2013 Community Pride Awards finalists announced

They have impressed judges with their extraordinary stories, and have now been invited to our awards ceremony at York Racecourse in October.

Nominations have poured in, and our judges have spent hours deliberating to choose finalists from each of the 13 categories.

We have received entries for charity workers, businesses, public sector staff, parents, teachers, children, health workers, sports people, teenagers, community organisations and schools – who have made an outstanding contribution to life in the city.

The Community Pride Awards, which are now in their tenth year, are run in partnership with City of York Council and sponsored by Benenden Health.

Spirit of youth

Sianagh Gallagher is a positive and determined 16-year-old from Acomb who was born very prematurely with medical problems including a curved spine and no left arm,and has defied the odds to become a para climbing champion. She is described as “an absolute inspiration” and a role model.

Imogen Bawtry, 13, of Huntington has been nominated for raising money in memory of family friend and Huddersfield teenager Charlie White, who died in April last year aged only 15. Imogen had her hair shaved off to fundraise for CLIC Sargent.

Meanwhile, a group of teenagers also from Joseph Rowntree School have made the final with their body confidence campaign. Molly Horner, Lucy Freer, Megan Guest and Alison Coates have even been contacted by the Radio 4 magazine show Woman’s Hour and asked to talk about their campaign challenging shopkeepers to promote positive body confidence and replace images of airbrushed models with unaltered pictures of customers within their stores.

Sporting hero

Bob Dickenson, the treasurer of Acomb Sports Club and chairman of Acomb Hockey Club shows incredible devotion to grassroots sports – tirelessly umpiring, coaching, organising events and inspiring players.

Sianagh Gallagher, who has been selected for the Great Britain paraclimbing team 2013, is “a brilliant role model for other disabled people” and puts her “heart and soul into everything she does”.

Cathy Wilkinson has taught hundreds of children to swim over the last 40 years and has worked all over York running KC Swim School and encouraging and inspiring children with their swimming.

Brian Hughes has set up some of the most important sporting events and groups in York, founding York Knavesmire Harriers, coaching and teaching karate, and has teaching hundreds of people to swim with York City Baths. He is also behind the York Brass Monkey Half Marathon, which attracts 2,000 runners every year, and started the R U Taking The P event which this year is expected to raise £50,000 in fundraising for prostate cancer research.

Charity Fundraiser

Penelope Worsley, of Heslington, who set up an international charity to continue the pioneering work her late son carried out in Thailand has been shortlisted for her outstanding work. She set up the Karen Hilltribes Trust from her York home which has gone on to raise about £3 million and helped to provide clean water to about 40,000 people in 400 villages across 10,000 square miles in north west Thailand.

Tom Riley, 23, and Rob Lucas, 24, went on an incredible round-the-world bike ride for charity, raising £17,500 so far for WaterAid. Brenda Mackfall, 79, has raised money for charity and brightened up the lives of thousands of York residents by putting on singing performances for over 50 years.

Best Community Project

Treemendous York is responsible for planting 3,600 trees in two years, striving to make York a greener place to live.

Also on the shortlist is The Bishophillbillies – volunteers who turned an unkempt churchyard into a cherished community garden, creating a haven for local people and community groups.

York Foodbank, in Front Street, Acomb, is dedicated to ensuring people never go hungry, providing emergency food and support to those in crisis. Since it was founded last year, frontline care professionals, including doctors, social workers and the police, have been issuing food vouchers to anyone who may be struggling.

Fulford Village Café, which opens at St Oswald’s Church three mornings a week, has also been nominated in the same category for its efforts to create a community hub in Fulford and to prevent social isolation.

Public Sector Hero

Devoted caretaker Wayne Allan, of St Paul’s CE Primary School in Holgate, goes the extra mile in his job every day, dealing with jobs which need doing before anyone else even notices them – from spending the summer decorating to digging a sump to improve drainage. “Shining star”

Anne Platt, who looks after the Lord Mayor and civic party, has been shortlisted for her work as civic support manager which has seen her organising military and freedom parade and the Queen’s visit to the Mansion House last year.

Police community support officer Kathryn Bean, who “goes out of her way” to help York businesses protect themselves against crime and in supporting victims has been nominated for an award.

Meanwhile, David Dalton, a tireless and devoted rapid response officer in waste management for City of York Council has been nominated for his outstanding work to keep York tidy.

Volunteer of the Year

Colin Lea is shortlisted for his 30 years of work with the British Red Cross and scouting, which he fits in around his full-time job as an NHS carer. As a long-distance runner, he has raised hundreds of pounds for various charities, including the National Autism Charity and ran two marathons in two days in Finland and Germany this month to raise money for North Yorkshire Fire and Emergency Support Service.

Anther finalist Dr Susie Mackenzie set up a singing class for people with dementia and their relatives two years ago to help them make new friends, build their confidence and have some vital relaxation time singing their favourite songs.

Dawn May has helped raise money for charities including St Leonard’s Hospice, the RSPCA and Cancer Research and given up her time to help out at an RSPCA fair. She has run the Race for Life numerous times, sold cakes, helped at plays and sold innumerable tickets for events.

Pat Baxter has devoted well over 50 years to York City Baths Club. Pat, 83, joined the club in 1938 as an eight-year-old girl and began coaching children and young people. She trains 25 swimmers, cycling to sessions three times a week.

Parent of the Year

Florence Lightfoot, 92, of Wigginton, has been shortlisted as parent of the year for being a devoted mother to her 58-year-old son John, who has severe learning disabilities. She is described as “interpreter, guardian angel and devoted mother to John”.

Steve and Julia Holding, parents to eight-year-old Ruby, have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity after their daughter lost her sight due to suffering two brain tumours. The parents-of-three, who run the Pig & Pastry in Bishopthorpe Road, York, have been nominated for their tireless efforts to support Ruby and others in similar situations.

Vicky and John Inglis, whose seven-year-old son Jamie passed away in January after twice fighting the aggressive childhood cancer, neuroblastoma, fought for their son to have potentially life-saving treatment which was unavailable on the NHS. The couple, who also have a four-year-old daughter Poppy, have carried out fundraising on behalf of other families with neuroblastoma and written moving blogs about their experiences.

Henry Wright, 86, was shortlisted for bringing up his granddaughter Claudia Shaw, 16, of Stockton Lane, who described him as one of the best people she has ever met, and helped her become the person she is today.

Teacher of the year

Zsuzsi Gotts of Applefields School, is a finalist for her outstanding work with Andrew Fletcher, 17, of Bootham Crescent, who has begun to eat properly for the first time in nearly a decade.

Andrew has complex physical and learning disabilities and has been fed through a gastrostomy tube since he was two in addition to having food orally. Andrew stopped eating completely when he was eight, for reasons which were never fully understood, and did not resume properly until he began working with Zsuzsi.

Popular teacher Andy Daniel, of Ralph Butterfield Primary School, is shortlisted for going out of his way to make “a rigid curriculum exciting and accessible”.

Meanwhile, Vicky Umpleby, at Huntington Primary School, is described as a kind and loving teacher who has inspired and supported her pupils and given them an enthusiasm for learning.

Primary School Project

Bishopthorpe Infants School has been shortlisted for its new school wildlife area which includes wildflowers, a wetland area and butterfly garden.

Tang Hall Primary School is a finalist for a string of eco-minded initiatives including a lunchtime gardening club, a supervised litter pick around the school grounds, recycling collection, planting and watering.

Carr Junior School has been shortlisted for its resourcefulness in saving its swimming pool when it needed extensive repairs, which has meant children from across the city still have the chance to learn to swim there.

Child of the Year

All of the children in the final are inspirational children who have overcome adversity in life. Oscar Hughes, eight, of Dunnington, had a brain tumour removed in an 11-hour operation earlier this year, since when he has started fundraising for the children’s cancer charity Yorkshire Candlelighters. He has inspired everyone who has met him with his positive and matter-of-fact attitude.

Joel Malyon, seven, of White House Dale, York, was given one of his mother’s kidneys in an operation in 2009, since when he has regularly taken part in the British Transplant Games and raised money for transplant charities.

Ruby Holding, eight, who has undergone major surgery and gruelling courses of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with two rare brain tumours, has been nominated for her uncomplaining bravery and happy demeanour.

Edie Palmer, eight, who was struck by meningitis as a toddler and has raised funds for York Hospital, has been shortlisted for her kind- hearted dedication.

Service with a Smile

Stephen Pryce, the landlord of The Corner House in Clifton, is credited with making the business a welcome and cheerful family meeting place.

One-Stop Shop in Walmgate is a finalist for its cheery customer service.

James Nixon, of Pets Pantry in Huntington always has a smile on his face” and is outstandingly polite and helpful.

Health Service Hero

Ellie Hodge, a chemotherapy nurse at York Hospital, was nominated by two former patients, since given the all-clear, who said she is a kind and thoughtful healthcare professional creadited with making a sometimes unbearable time in life bearable.

Other finalists are the district nurses at Clementhorpe Health Centre, who have been described as “angels”, for the cheery service they provide to the community.

Meadowfields Community Unit for the Elderly, in Tadcaster Road, is in the running for the outstanding care they give to patients.

Person of the Year

This year, the finalists for Person Of The Year in the awards, are inspirational teenage para climber Sianagh Gallagher, who has also been nominated in the spirit of youth and sporting hero categories.

Sports champion Brian Hughes – the man behind key sports events and clubs in York, whose efforts have got thousands involved in sporting activities.

And Penelope Worsley, who has recently retired from running her international charity Karen Hilltribes Trust which has improved the lives of countless people in Thailand.