A GROUP of employees from Norwich Union in York are in the running to receive a national award for their community service.

The 32 Norwich Union volunteers will be competing with three other organisations for the Best Employee Team Activity award as a result of work with children for Community Service Volunteers' (CVS) Make A Difference Day last year.

They put in a combined 192 hours for the single biggest day of volunteering, which is supported by Barclays Community Investment Programme.

Winners will be announced at the national ceremony in London, on Thursday, when attending celebrities will include pop mogul Pete Waterman, T4's June Sarpong, and ITV weather presenter Sian Lloyd.

For CSV Make A Difference Day 2005, the Norwich Union staff members worked with the National Children's Homes' (NCH) Butterfly Project in Warrington, which supports children who have terminal, life-threatening or life limiting illnesses.

The group arranged a family day out, at the Children's Adventure Farm in Millington, Cheshire. They also arranged sports activities and arts and crafts.

On top of this the Norwich Union staff redecorated the Butterfly Project's family counselling room and the children's play room for the NCH in Warrington They also cleared an overgrown car park there.

Added to this was a Norwich Union donation of £600 for the NCH to buy books to help with counseling.

Activity organiser, Allison Darling said: "Norwich Union is thrilled to have been short-listed. The event brought together all our charity partners and benefited inspirational children from NCH. The nomination is recognition for the work volunteers put in to make the day special".

CSV Make A Difference Day encourages people to give time instead of money to help improve their local communities.

Activities range from giving blood, knitting outfits for premature babies, transforming wasteland into community gardens, teaching IT skills, renovating homeless shelters, baking and donating cakes to people in residential homes - anything which improves the lives of others.

Competing with Norwich Union, York, for the Best Employee Team award, sponsored by KPMG, are EDS Credit Services, of Milton Keynes, BAA Gatwick and Nene Housing Society, of Peterborough.

To find out more about CSV Make A Difference Day go to www.csv.org.uk/difference and for other year round volunteering opportunities visit www.csv.org.uk

Updated: 10:46 Friday, March 17, 2006