Sew, a needle pulling thread…

We have another nomination in the Community Focussed Business category in the 2015 Love Barrow Awards – A Stitch Different Community Interest Company.

A Stitch Different

“Blessed are the children of the piecemakers…For they shall inherit the quilts!”

A Stitch Different are all parents & carers of  Special Needs and disabled children, the community interest company makes therapy products for people with sensory disorders, with the proceeds go back into the Furness disability community. They also give disabled people work experience & meaningful activities giving higher self esteem along with learning new skills. They’ve donated many items to help raise funds for local disability group & organised many awareness events.

They’ve organised several awareness & fundraising events and donated items for the Autistic societies “Onesie Wednesday”, more recently they organised a flashmob in Barrow town centre to raise awarenes & funds for the National Autistic Society- Furness branch.

They have given work experience to young adults with autism & created employment for other parent carers all whilst looking after disabled young people themselves.

The range of products they manufacture is amazing, you can see many examples on their Facebook page

A fantatsic initiative and a great worthy nomination for Community Focussed Business of the Year.

BREAKING NEWS – congratulations on making it to the final three in this category, see you on the red carpet at the Forum in March!

 


Love Barrow Families – Group or Project of the Year nomination

Love Barrow families logo

Here’s the latest nomination in the 2015 Love Barrow Awards group or Project of the Year category – “Love Barrow Families”.

Love Barrow Families was the dream of Trina Robson and Alison Tooby, who wanted to create a way of working with families with the most complex needs in our community to really make a difference.

Since the idea was put forward over two years ago, Alison and Trina have worked tirelessly to realise that dream and create a team and a way of working that supports the whole family, assessing their real needs and discovering the skills and assets of the people in that family and those surrounding them to produce a specially targeted package of support.

“They are incredibly hard working and have daily contact with many of the families they are working with, giving practical, emotional support to people who are often in crisis. They do this without judgment and with consistency, the families have developed extremely positive working relationships with the professionals involved in the project and there have been many examples of massive progress being made by families who have often struggled for many years and have responded positively to a different way of working.”

The team have worked hard to make sure that new ideas and a new approach succeed, often having to challenge existing ways of working to make improvements.

“It’s been difficult for some professionals who have traditionally worked in a more generic way to see how this approach can be successful and sustainable and they have faced a battle at times to get people to understand and support a more holistic and integrated way of working with families. It has been exhausting to see the determination of Trina and Alison to seek funding and build around them a team of
truly dedicated group of professionals who support the project because they believe it can make a difference, but they have achieved this through a passionate belief that the people of Barrow are special and can make a innovative project like this work”

A great scheme delivering real benefits to families in Barrow – well done on your success so far and on your nomination for a Love Barrow Award.


The Clock is Ticking… Love Barrow Awards nomination deadline

We’re into the last two weeks of nominations for the 2015 Love Barrow Awards – we’ve had some great nominations so far but we’re always happy to have more! Nominations close at midnight on Sunday 9th November and we cannot accept any late entries, so if you know of someone, group, company that would be a fitting nominee for any of our NINE award categories, get those nominations in now!

deadline

The full process can be completed from this website and is really quick and easy – but do remember that the judging team can ONLY work with the information submitted on the entry forms, so as much detail as possible goes a long way to giving your nomination the best chance come judging day.

Follow the link here to nominate and we look forward to receiving your nominations.

Watch the blog this week for details of more nominations we have received, or have a look back over the 50+ blog posts so far for a bit more detail on some of the nominees posted so far.

 


Double Hedgehog Nomination! Irene Cannon and Grove Veterinary Centre

A DOUBLE HEDGEHOG NOMINATION!

You read it right – we have two nominees for the Environmental Award that are colsely connected in their care of hedgehogs in the borough.

Irene Cannon is another local volunteer who goes about her caring activities with a love for nature and animals being her primary focus.

Irene runs FURNESS HEDGEHOG RESCUE and over the last year has cared for and released back to their native habitat over 70 of the prickly little creatures.

hedgehog

Irene was recently rewarded for her hard work through the ASDA Barrow green tokens scheme, giving her money towards the construction of a large shed to house the injured animals that people bring to her for care and rehabilitation.

Irene has become a victim of her own success you could say, as word has spread of her work then more and more hedgehogs have been brought to her.

Hedgehogs can get into difficulty all year ound and the caring role has become a 24/7 occupation for Irene.

Irene also spends time educating people and schools about hedgehogs – an animal that is in decline nationally.

Irene couldn’t possibly manage the medical bills for the animals she cares for – thankfully help is at hand and Tim Miller and his team at GROVE VETERINARY CENTRE come to the rescue – looking after all the medication and costs of medical treatment that the rescued hedgehogs require.

A great example of teamwork and a great double nomination with both Irene and Tim with his team being nominated separately for the Environmental Award.

BREAKING NEWS – congratulations to both on making it to the final three in this category, see you on the red carpet at the Forum in March!

 


School’s Out! What will those Young Citizens be doing all week?

SchoolsOut

After what seems like a VERY long EIGHT weeks, it’s Half-Term and time for a week off to recharge those batteries for teachers, pupils and everyone else involved in our educational establishments!

Among the scores of school pupils and college students enjoying their week off, there are bound to be a number of potential YOUNG CITIZEN OF THE YEAR nominees, doing great work in the local community during half-term. Be that fundraising, charity work, caring, helping others -there are many great examples in the borough of young people who go that extra mile.

Why not have a think about that YOUNG CITIZEN you know of who goes above and beyond and nominate them for a LOVE BARROW AWARD?

Need some inspiration – have a look at last years finalists in the Young Citizen category –

JACOB MCSWEENEY

HARRISON HOLMES

and JAMES COX

All great YOUNG CITIZENS I’m sure you’ll agree and food for thought to help you think of a nomination for the 2015 Awards.

Nominating is VERY EASY – just follow the NOMINATIONS tab at the top of this page and all the details are there, you can then easily submit your entries online via that tab.

 

 

 


What happens after I nominate in the Love Barrow Awards?

One of the questions we get asked here at the Love Barrow Awards HQ is about how the nomination, judging and short-listing process works – so we thought it might be a good idea to give you the details.

Nominations are open until midnight on the 9th November – make sure if you are posting your entry that it arrives before this deadline.

We take a day to compile all of the forms and supporting documents and on 11th November the judging panel sit to go through the mountain on paper. We don’t have a chimney at the offices through which we can issue coloured smoke on making our final decisions, but it might be something we can think about for the future – pink “Love Barrow” coloured smoke maybe?

#LBA15 logo

The judging panel this year consists of representatives from

  • Barrow Borough Council
  • Barrow Community Safety Partnership
  • Cumbria Constabulary
  • The Bay Radio
  • The North West Evening Mail
  • Cumbria County Council
  • Cumbria Council for Voluntary Services
  • Previous Love Barrow Award Winners

 – we’ll have to clear a big enough room at our HQ!

The judges will short-list THREE finalists in each of the nine categories and select the winners. The short-listed finalists will be informed as soon as possible after that date and invited to the glittering awards ceremony at The Forum where the winners will be revealed with the opening of the Golden Envelopes. Think “Pride of Britain” awards that you see on the TV then make it even better, we really push the boat out (thanks to our super sponsors) to make it an enjoyable evening and a lasting memory for the finalists.

The awards evening will be held on the 6th March 2015, which at the time of being told you’re a finalist will seem like a long way off, but the time flies by and there is lots to do in that time! Every finalist is filmed for a video clip to be shown on the big screen at the awards and also included in the DVD of the event. Finalists have a lot of input into what gets filmed and what doesn’t in terms of the work they do, bearing in mind that they may have working environments with children and vulnerable people which all have to be taken into account.

Then it’s just a case of picking yourself something glitzy to wear ready to grace the red carpet – we’re not joking, you can see it in the picture below at the 2014 awards!

Nominations for the 2015 Love Barrow Awards are OPEN

Good luck if you’ve been nominated!

If you know of a person or group who go that extra mile for the people of the Barrow Borough, how about nominating them now – there’s nine categories at the awards this year and that 9th November deadline is getting closer -full details can be found by clicking this link.

 


Environmental Award Nominee – STEVE BENN

We are lucky in the borough to have some wonderful areas of natural beauty-  North Walney Nature Reserve is a prime example and we have recieved a nomination for the reserve’s warden, STEVE BENN, in the Environmental Award category of the 2015 Love Barrow Awards.North Walney Nature Reserve pic

Steve is the official warden for North Walney nature reserve and is employed by Natural England. North Walney is one of the best coastal nature reserves in the country, retaining a real wilderness feel in a largely industrial local landscape.

The reserve’s most famous resident is the noisy natterjack toad. One of the UK’s rarest amphibians, it is only found at around 40 sites in England.

Steve’s passion for his work is so obvious. He has been the warden of the site for many many years. Although he is employed, Steve goes far beyond his duties as a warden. He is friendly and very approachable with an unbelievable knowledge of what he does. He is involved with everything that happens in the reserve. This is from protecting, enhancing and encouraging its use.

He regularly works over, finishing the job. He gives tours of the reserve and works closely with local schools, educating the young about the importance of the reserve, and nature in general. Steve also arranges community beach cleans and reserve cleans.

The benefits Steve dedication gives is wide ranging. This is from national (protection of rare species), local and to the local community and young people. Other benefits are to the local economy as he works closely with Barrow Borough Council advising them on various committees linked to nature and heritage.

A GREAT ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD NOMINATION – WELL DONE STEVE


CAST Theatre – Group or Project nomination

CAST theatre logo

Here in Barrow in Furness we are very lucky to have such a diverse range of musical theatre groups, all of which strive to put on an amazing production each year, with its members working tirelessly to put on  fantastic productions.

As one of the newest groups in the area CAST theatre company work with a tiny budget to put on great productions. Unlike some groups CAST are unable to afford to hire sets or costumes, and have to rely on a huge team effort from its members, committee, creative team and young peoples parents.

CAST are a very inclusive group and accept everyone of any age, ability or background, not only to their group but to the CAST family.

Hayley Nadine

“CAST are a group who make everyone welcome. There is no audition process to gain a place in the group, which allows for even the shyest person blossom on the stage. CAST are thankful for the opportunities they have been given and like to give back to help our local community, by taking part in events including bag packing which assists raise funds for both the group and other charities, singing at one of our members care homes, Tarn House, and performing at KIDSfest 2014.”

Various people benefit from the work CAST Theatre Company do. First and foremost it’s the members, who gain a sense of accomplishment whenever they give 100% to helping create and bring to life each and every production.

CAST also is active in its local community by joining in other fundraising events and community events.

A great nomination for a great group, well done on your nomination.

 


Sports Volunteer nomination – Helen Wiggan

Here’s another great Sports Volunteer nomination to tell you about – Helen Wiggan of the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Club.

Helen Wiggan

Helen has been running a Karate club specifically for youngsters from Barrow and the surrounding area for around ten years. During this period about ten of the youngsters have achieved blackbelts in Kenpo Karate. Helens club promotes family orientated physical activity and has forged links with other clubs in Newcastle and Carlisle.

Dragon Tiger logo
By the time of the Love Barrow Awards ceremony the club will have competed in its first ever World Championships. A small team are traveling to Dublin to compete in several events on 25th & 26th of October.

The nomination form is full of praise for Helen – “I believe that without the dedication of Helen the club would not have achieved half of what it has and these young people would not had such experiences.”

The club also raise money for charity and they are a great asset to the Furness area.

Well done Helen on your nomination.

 


Wow, it’s windy out there!

Maybe cycling to work wasn’t such a good idea today! Dodging the flying wheelie bins and the odd bungalow passing overhead…

Wizard of Oz

Take care out there everyone – it’s a proper wild and windy one as the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo land on our Furness shores.

May be better to just stay indoors today, but what to do with yourself? How about nominating someone for a Love Barrow Award? There’s nine categories at the awards this year and we’re accepting nominations in all of them until the 9th November, but the sooner you get them in the sooner we can feature them here on this blog.

Nominating is easy – just follow the link at the top of this page and everything is explained.

So put that kettle on, make a brew, have a think about who to nominate and make some use out of a horrible day!

Take Care

Darren @ Love Barrow Awards