Northumberland Sport Celebrates Achievements of Young Volunteers
Craig Heap with Young Male & Female Step Into Sport Award Winners
Former Olympic Gymnast and twice Commonwealth Gold medallist,
Organised and delivered by Northumberland Sport and funded by Sport England, young volunteers, club and school representatives were invited from across the county to celebrate the achievements of young volunteers through Step into Sport. A number of other young voluntary initiatives and programmes across the county were also invited to share the experience.
Northumberland Sport chairman Steve Cram MBE, a huge supporter of the Step into Sport programme, sent a message of encouragement to the young volunteers on the night via a video link. He explained how volunteers have played a key role in their own achievements and how volunteers are still the life blood for sport in
Award Winners
To recognise just some of the magnificent achievements of these young volunteers, many of which have provided in excess of 50 volunteer hours in their local communities, two awards for best male & female were presented by Craig Heap. Gareth Wade from Prudhoe High School won the best male award for his voluntary work at Stocksfield Cricket Club and Leeann Irving from Haydon Bridge High School won the best female award for her voluntary work at Hexham Netball Club
Event organiser Neville Duncan of Northumberland Sport said:
“We are delighted to have hosted this event, which recognises the tremendous success of the Step into Sport programme and the dedication, motivation and enthusiasm shown by our young volunteers, clubs and School Sport Partnerships in Northumberland. It was also great to be able to invite different volunteering programmes to show the depth and diversity of volunteering opportunities for young people in the county.
I would like to congratulate Leeann and Gareth on winning their awards, which are both richly deserved. Sporting Champion Craig Heap once again proved to be a real inspiration which will hopefully encourage these young volunteers to continue their voluntary activities in the future.”
Craig Heap said, “It was terrific to be a part of such a wonderful event, which recognises the tremendous achievements of Step into Sport scheme in Northumberland. In my sport, volunteers are so often the unsung heroes, so it was great to see so many young volunteers being recognised at this event for their outstanding achievements, which do make a significant impact in their local communities.”
To view photographs for the event visit the image gallery.
