Winner of Proud of Bucks awards revealed

With nearly 400 nominations across 16 Community Board areas, this year's Proud of Bucks awards have proved that community spirit continues to thrive in Buckinghamshire.

Sponsored by The Clare Foundation, the annual Proud of Bucks awards recognise and celebrate outstanding community contribution carried out by local volunteers, groups and organisations throughout the past year, acknowledging communities that have made a positive impact in their local areas.

The awards feature three categories:

• Local Community Champion – For an individual (aged 21 and over) who has made a clear and positive impact in their local community during 2022.
• Young Community Champion – For a young person (under age 21) who has made a clear and positive impact in their local community or towards their peers during 2022.
• Community Group Contribution – Recognises and celebrates a group in the Community Board area who has made a clear and positive impact on the community during 2022.

All 398 nominations received for this year's awards were reviewed by a local panel of judges and one winner was chosen for each category within each of the 16 Community Board areas. Over the past six months, each Community Board has hosted a special event to present the winners and those who have been Highly Commended with their awards and certificates.

A full list of winners can be found online but some of the highlights of this year's awards include:

• Young Community Champion - 8-year-old Avi Bond from The Beeches Community Board area has been putting her creative talents to use in raising money for charity by making and selling loom band items and Douglas Young from the Haddenham and Waddesdon Community Board area has been campaigning for greater disability awareness, leading to an accessible footpath being installed in the local area.
• Local Community Champion - Lucy Bignall from Buckingham set up a community choir to help boost the mental health of local residents and in Amersham, Helen Tyers set up a memory café.
• Community Group Contribution - the Marlow Ukraine Collective received recognition for its efforts to support Ukrainian guests who have made their home in Buckinghamshire and the Holmer Green Youth Club Young Leaders from the Missendens Community Board area were awarded for their local good works in supporting young people in their area.
• A special posthumous Local Community Champion award was given to Steve Morton, a well-loved and proactive community figure in High Wycombe. He passed away suddenly in December 2022 and the judging panel decided to award him posthumously in recognition of the exceptional environmental works he did for the High Wycombe community and beyond.   

  Arif Hussain, Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Communities said: "I would like to say congratulations to all our winners, and everyone nominated in this year's awards, as well as all those who took the time to nominate and of course, our sponsor's The Clare Foundation.

"The variety and scope of volunteering and community work going on across the county is phenomenal. It demonstrates what many of us already knew, Buckinghamshire has a thriving community spirit which continues to grow as new generations get involved. There is some amazing work going on out there and we are proud of the efforts being made within our local communities to support one another and make improvements for local people."

Mike Clare, Founder & President of The Clare Foundation said: "I am pleased that The Clare Foundation has been committed to the community through the collaboration with the Buckinghamshire Council Community Boards and the Proud Of Bucks Awards across the 16 areas in the county; I was inspired, and delighted to meet some of those charities and community groups and listen to them, hear their stories, feel their passion and understand their commitment to make things and people's lives better in Bucks. The Trustees, CEO and I will be delighted to continue our collaboration with the Council for some time to come. Congratulations to all of those who participated, and truly well done to those who were awarded".

The first Proud of Bucks awards took place in 2020, as a way of recognising the efforts made by local people to support others during the pandemic. Since then, the awards have developed and grown, with each local Community Board taking responsibility for choosing a winner in each of the three categories in their local area.

To find out more about your local Community Board, visit our website.