Young heroes in Wirral will to be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony this Friday

Feb 22 2012 by Linda Foo Guest, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL’S young heroes will be announced at an awards ceremony this Friday.

Youngsters across the borough will be celebrated at the first-ever Wirral Youth Heroes Awards.

The event was set up following the riots last summer, to honour Wirral’s inspirational young people who deserve recognition.

Wirral organisation Youth for Christ (YFC) decided to showcase those who do good in the community through the Wirral Youth Heroes Awards.

A group of 24 youngsters aged 11 to 19-years-old have been selected for the final out of about 130 applications.

There are nine categories and the overall winner will be presented with an iPad2.

The awards ceremony take place on Friday at Thornton Hall Hotel, hosted by Coronation Street actor Andrew Lancel.

The categories are: great sporting achievement, contribution to the arts, overcoming illness/disability, courage and bravery, enterprise, educational achievement, community action, inspirational volunteer, and young carer.

Martin Dickson from Wirral YFC told the News: “Wirral Youth Heroes Awards is a grassroots response to the riots which involves the whole community.

“Last year’s riots in Birkenhead showed us all that there is a problem and that it is close to home.

“But this is only a small part of the picture. Wirral is home to thousands of young people who are heroes and we want to find the most inspirational from amongst them.

“As an organisation Wirral YFC is passionately committed to working alongside partners in the community to see young people’s potential realised.

“As people will gather from our name, this desire is motivated by our belief that every young person in Wirral is cherished by their creator and worthy of our love, concern and very best efforts.

“The Wirral Youth Heroes Awards are born out of this belief.

“We want to publicly affirm and thank a number of very special young people who stand out as being inspirational to their peers, and whom members of the public have deemed to be heroes.

“All 24 finalists will be receiving a prize on the night so they’re all winners in that respect.

“However, one young person in each category will be chosen as the winner of that category and they will receive a trophy, then there will be one overall winner who will be crowned Wirral Youth Hero of 2012.

“We are proud to acknowledge these young people; we want to encourage them to keep on being amazing and to continue to inspire others by their actions and attitudes to life.”

The awards evening, which will include a three-course dinner and live entertainment, is open to the general public. Tickets cost £35 each, or a table of 10 for £325.