IT IS time to reveal the magnificent men, women and children in the running to be crowned Glasgow Community Champions for 2023.
The public vote to determine the winners of the regional heats opens this week – so it is time to get behind your favourite.
The Glasgow Times awards, in association with Glasgow City Council, Wheatley Glasgow, Merck and Trades House of Glasgow, celebrate everything that is great about the city and its people.
Once again, our readers will determine who triumphs in the North East, North West and South heats.
Today, we announce the finalists for the North East and South heats.
Tomorrow we will reveal those fighting it out in the North West and City-wide categories.
The public vote will open on Tuesday (October 17) once all our finalists have been revealed. Details of how to vote will be announced on Tuesday in the newspaper and online.
It is free to cast your vote and voting closes on October 31. The winners of each heat will go through to a final judging session, and will be announced at the Grand Final at the City Chambers on December 5.
The finalists in the North East are as follows:
Team Award – Croft Visitor Centre at HMP Barlinnie, who support families affected by a loved one’s imprisonment; Greyfriars Biophilic Garden volunteers, who have transformed an unloved grassy area on High Street into a beautiful green space; Shettleston Does Digital, who run a digital skills training project; and the Dungeons and Dragons team at Fuse Youth Café, who bring have helped young people in the community overcome challenges.
Individual Award – James Duffy, popular ‘Jim the janny’ at Fuse Cafe; Sophie Ross, who overcame personal hardship to inspire others through volunteering; Brian Ferguson, a devoted volunteer at the Daffodil Club for elderly people; and Kevin Scott, who runs free walking tours around Glasgow’s history hotspots.
Public Service Award – Surviving Stalking Podcast, which helps victims of stalking; University of Strathclyde Law Clinic, which has been providing free legal advice for 20 years; and SFRS City of Glasgow Community Action Team, which diverts young people from offending.
Uniformed Services Award – Glasgow Royal Infirmary's dedicated neo-natal nursing team, who support babies and families; and retired mental health nurse Linda Doonan, who helped design a groundbreaking outreach service.
Senior Award – Korean War veteran Andrew Glassford; 95-year-old painter Tommy McGoran; and elderly support service the Daffodil Club.
Young Award – Logan Clark, a volunteer with Crimestoppers; Skye Duncan, who despite losing three years of school after a cancer diagnosis earned a law degree place at university; and dedicated Easterhouse Pavilion volunteers Summer Weir and Farrah McIvor.
Health and Wellbeing Award – PC Katriona Currie and PC Gary Ballantyne, who work with mothers and babies at the city’s asylum seekers’ unit; PEEK’s inspirational wellbeing service; and BEE Walking Group in Easterhouse.
School Award – Sunnyside Primary; Ashton Secondary; St Rose of Lima Primary; St Andrew’s Secondary.
The finalists in the South are as follows:
Team Award – ACVC Hub, an art and woodwork club for veterans which helps with their recovery; Govanhill Community Garden Memorial Garden volunteers, who tend a beautiful space dedicated to those who have lost loved ones; and G5’s Got Talent, a celebration of people in Oatlands and the Gorbals.
Individual Award – Mehek Ejaz, a leading light at Urban Community Project; Derek Reid, the man behind vital suicide awareness campaign LD Let’s Talk and football academy Castlemilk Dynamo; Christine Mulgrew, the driving force behind a Cardonald community meals project; Donna Foote, who runs Nitshill Festival; and hardworking Elaine Drew, an employee who goes the extra mile at Castlemilk Seniors Centre.
Public Service Award – Friends of Southern Necropolis, who have transformed a neglected graveyard into a vital resource; Urban Community Project Youth Committee, who deliver mental health and wellbeing workshops in Pollokshields; Turf, who support young people with mental health issues; and community meals project Cardonald Community Network CIC.
Uniformed Services Award – PC Lauren McMinn, who helped deliver a baby in dramatic circumstances; Royal Hospital for Children nurse Charlotte Picken, whose work in introducing a theatre prescribing nurse has had a huge impact; and paramedic Sharon Stewart, who in addition to educating her community in first aid, also fundraises for families in need.
Senior Award – Father Gerry Fitzpatrick, whose work with music and community has inspired locals; Rizy Mohammed, who runs an appeal for stem cell donors; and Dr Inderjit Singh, a retired GP who is a tireless fundraiser.
Young Award – Hannah Davidson, a volunteer with Friends of Southern Necropolis; and fellow FoSN volunteer Nathan Reid.
Health and Wellbeing Award – Castlemilk Soup-erheroes, who organise community meals and festivals; Urban Community Project, who run a range of vital services; and LD Let’s Talk, a suicide awareness campaign.
School Award – St Bride’s Primary; St Bernard’s Primary.
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