Tag: nominations open

Nominations are now open for Edinburgh Award

The search has begun for the next recipient of the Edinburgh Award as nominations are now open.

Established in 2007, the Edinburgh Award is a way for the Capital’s citizens to pay a lasting tribute to outstanding individuals who have made a positive impact on the city and gained national and international recognition for Edinburgh.

Recent recipients include philanthropists Sir Tom Farmer and Tom Gilzean and rugby legend Doddie Weir – each of whom has a cast of their handprints imprinted in flagstones in front of the City Chambers.

2020’s recipient – world-famous city author Alexander McCall – became the 14th person to receive the Edinburgh Award, in recognition and celebration of his bestselling writing and legal career, and academic work.

Communities, businesses and individuals across Edinburgh have three weeks to cast nominations for the 2021 award, before a recipient is selected by a panel chaired by the Lord Provost.

Urging citizens and businesses to nominate someone for the Award, the Lord Provost Frank Ross said: “Edinburgh may be a small city, but it is well known for punching well above its weight on the world stage thanks to the talents and achievements of our fellow citizens.

“The Edinburgh Award is your chance to celebrate those people who make Edinburgh such an inspiring place. Please help us celebrate the people of Edinburgh’s achievements by proposing a nominee.

“We continue to see outstanding commitment and care demonstrated by the people of Edinburgh. Throughout the pandemic there has been a huge community effort made by individuals and organisations to tackle the impacts of coronavirus. People continue to go above and beyond to help their fellow citizens and to help the city recover. I’m hoping to see many recognised in this year’s nominations.

“The Edinburgh Award has been presented to many truly outstanding recipients over the years, most recently Alexander McCall Smith. Nominees can come from all walks of life from culture and sport to literature and philanthropy. We need everyone’s help to tell us – who should be next? Who deserves to follow in their footsteps to become the 15th recipient?” 

Nominations can be made online and must be received no later than noon on Friday 29 October 2021.

The winner will be presented with an engraved Loving Cup at a ceremony hosted by the Lord Provost and will have their hand prints reproduced on a flagstone in the City Chambers quadrangle.

Who is our best councillor?

Nominations now open for the 2021 LGIU Scotland & CCLA Councillor Awards

The only national awards ceremony celebrating the ‘vital’ work of individual councillors across Scotland opens its call for nominations.

Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) Scotland and CCLA are proud to officially launch the 4th annual Cllr Awards, honouring the achievements of councillors that so often go unrecognised. 

This year’s award categories celebrate the essential and varied work of councillors and include the coveted Community Champion, Leader of the Year and New Councillor of the Year awards, alongside a new Resilience and Recovery category for 2021.

Nominations can be made by anyone who would like to recognise a councillor doing outstanding work for their community. They are open until Friday, 24 September with the shortlist unveiled at the end of October. 

The winners will be decided by a panel of judges composed of senior councillors and officers as well as leading stakeholders from across the sector. They will be revealed at this year’s ceremony taking place on Wednesday, 24 November. Due to the ongoing Covid related restrictions, it will be held as a hybrid event with virtual link ups to a Glasgow venue.

This year’s awards are made possible thanks to the generous support of founding partners, CCLA.

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGIU Scotland, said: “Local government supports all of us, each and every day. On every street, in every town, up and down the country, it is the vital work of councillors that keeps things moving. 

“Now is the time for us to support our local heroes by nominating those councillors who have stepped up to the plate during extraordinary circumstances to deliver for their communities.

“As we officially open nominations for Cllr Awards 2021, we welcome contributions from any member of the public as well as other councillors, officers and leaders. We look forward to once again receiving the highest calibre of nominations and showcasing the essential work of councillors in November.”

Nominations open for Edinburgh’s Inspiring Volunteer Awards

Last year, for obvious reasons and to our great disappointment, we were not able to host our annual Inspiring Volunteer Awards.

However, we are delighted to announce that this year we have planned a date of Wednesday 28th July for our ceremony to take place.

This event is normally held during Volunteers’ Week (1 to 7 June), however to maximise the chances of it being a live, in-person event, we have delayed it this year.

Plans for the evening are subject to any changes to restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.

We are now opening nominations for 2021 and you can find more details on our dedicated webpage here: voled.in/nominations

Organisations can nominate by completing our online nomination form and are able to nominate up to three individual volunteers, one team of volunteers, up to three nominations for the Ian McInnes Award, and one nomination for the new Paul Bennett Volunteer Manager of the Year Award.

Please note that nominations close on Friday 4 June 2021.

Please share using the short url voled.in/nominations and help us to celebrate Edinburgh’s volunteers!

#VolunteersWeekScot

#LoveEdinburghLoveVolunteering

Jason McCann,

Events Coordinator, Volunteer Edinburgh

Nominate your unsung Heart Hero

Entries to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Virtual Heart Hero Awards 2021 are now open and the charity is asking you to nominate your local heart hero.

It is an opportunity to honour the health professionals and members of the public going above and beyond to help save and improve the lives of those with heart and circulatory diseases. And this year there is an additional reason to celebrate, as the BHF marks its 60th anniversary.

Last year five inspirational Scottish winners were honoured, including:

  • 9-year-old Fraser Cameron, from Giffnock, who scooped the Young Heart Hero Award after walking 100 miles with his dad Ewen in memory of his granny who died from heart disease, raising more than £3,000 for the BHF.
  • The Paul Lynas Memorial Group, from West Lothian, who won the Fundraising in the Community Award, after raising more than £35,000 in honour of their friend Paul Lynas who died after a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of just 37.
  • Margaret McWilliam, from Aberdeenshire, who was honoured with the Charity Champion Award after raising tens of thousands of pounds for the BHF and helping hundreds of people learn life saving CPR.
  • Liz Douglas, from Aberdeenshire, who was given the HealthCare Hero Award for her work as a nurse over the last twenty years, supporting patients and their families with heart and circulatory diseases.
  • Staff and Students at the University of St Andrews, who took the Retail Partner Award after helping to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the BHF and providing much needed stock for BHF shops, reducing waste in the community.

The last 12 months have been the hardest in the BHF’s 60-year history. The Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on its income and as a result, research funding had to be cut in half this year.

As a result, a special award is being added this year – Innovative Fundraiser – to acknowledge those who found new and creative ways of raising money as fundraising events across the country were postponed and cancelled.

A ‘Heart Hero’ can be anyone: From a nurse or doctor working in the field of heart disease who has helped a family, to a young person with heart disease who has shown incredible courage and determination, or a fantastic fundraiser.

All nominees will be invited to a star-studded online awards ceremony premiering live on YouTube on World Heart Day on September 29th, when the winners will be announced.

There are three categories for nominations: My Healthcare Hero, Innovative Fundraiser and Young Heart Hero (under 18).

James Jopling, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “Following the huge success of last year’s Virtual Heart Hero Awards, this year’s event will again be virtual. It has been an incredibly challenging year for heart and circulatory disease patients and their families, for our research community and for the BHF.

“That is even more reason to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our supporters who have gone above and beyond, despite the pandemic, to help us beat heartbreak forever”.

For more information about the criteria and to nominate your 2021 BHF Heart Hero visit,  www.bhf.org.uk/heartheroes.