Lewisham youngsters scoop volunteering award

Young people from Lewisham's Wells Park Youth Facility project have received the Make a Difference award for their commitment to volunteering in the area.

The myplace Young People's Focus Group won the Group Volunteering section of the award in a ceremony at Lewisham Town Hall. The group of 16 young people, aged between 14 and 17, are all from the Sydenham area and came together to help plan their myplace project. They have presented it to Lewisham's Mayor and Cabinet meeting and have been given full approval for it. They also have full input into deciding the range of services and programmes that will be delivered. Group members She-neil Walker and Shainae Morris (pictured) collected the award, and the judges were impressed with the sustained amount of volunteering the group had done over the past 18 months.

The Make a Difference awards were organised by Lewisham Council and the Volunteer Centre Lewisham to give something back to all the volunteers in the area. Members of the public nominated worthy winners and runners-up in eight categories and an independent panel of judges decided upon the winners. Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, said: "These awards give us an opportunity to say ‘thank you' to the many people in Lewisham, young and old, who give back to their community through volunteering."

Gerry Devine from the Lewisham project nominated the group for the award and was delighted to see them win. He said: "I nominated the focus group for their enthusiasm and commitment to the myplace project, and obviously they won, which was great, because they really deserve it. Also the publicity is of benefit to the marketing of the new centre, and a positive image of young people."

To see who won the other awards, click here.

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