SELFLESS people who make a difference to others often perform their acts of kindness with little recognition.

From marathon runners to bungee jumpers, there are various ways people help causes close to their hearts.

And those who do go out of their way to make a difference often make a lasting impression.

Community Pride’s Volunteer of the Year category is sponsored by Aviva, a company with no shortage of staff willing to help others.

They are no strangers to the awards and bosses are proud to return for another year to back York’s volunteers.

Angela Darlington, chief risk officer at Aviva, said: “The Community Pride awards are a great way of recognising the unsung heroes of York who make a real difference to our city on a daily basis.

“There are incredible stories to listen to, it’s a shame we can’t give an award to them all.

“As a major employer in the area, Aviva is fully committed to supporting the local community. We’re proud to be sponsoring the Volunteer of the Year category again in 2015, which is all about recognising those who have shown real energy, enthusiasm and commitment to making a difference to their community.

“At Aviva, we’re proud that our employees give so much time to volunteering. We offer up to 21 hours paid leave per annum and in 2012 Aviva employees gave over 30,000 hours of volunteering.”

Last year’s winner, Dan Shrimpton, picked up the award for his service to York’s Joseph Rowntree theatre.

Mr Shrimpton first joined the theatre as a stage hand in 1993 but went on to help the various voluntary groups who use the space to prepare for and stage their productions.

He was nominated by members of the theatre’s board, who said: “By his own admission, Dan can’t sing, can’t act, can’t dance, but by gosh, if you can, he’ll make sure that you’ve got the perfect place to do it.”

The Community Pride Awards are sponsored by Benenden and jointly run by The Press and City of York Council.

All nominees must live in, or contribute to life in, the City of York Council area. Around three finalists from each category will be invited to the awards ceremony at York Racecourse in October, when the winners will be revealed.

Make a nomination at yorkpress.co.uk/pride, explaining why you think the person deserves to win.

Entries to be submitted by Friday, July 17, when a judging panel will pick a category winner.