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This is your last chance to nominate Southport heroes

STRICTLY Come Dancing's head judge Shirley Ballas is offering people and projects from Southport the chance to waltz off with a National Lottery Award by getting their nominations in before the Monday, 7 June 2021, deadline.

The National Lottery Awards are the annual search for the UK's favourite National Lottery funded people and organisations and they celebrate the inspirational individuals and groups who do extraordinary things in their community, especially during these challenging times.

In 2020, there were almost 5000 nominations made and once again, the National Lottery is looking to hear about those who are going the extra mile, doing amazing things, and inspiring others. Anyone who has received National Lottery funding is eligible for nomination.

Winners in each category will receive a ₤3,000 cash prize for their organisation and a coveted National Lottery Awards trophy.

Flying the flag for the North West last year was Taslima Ahmad who won the UK wide Heritage category for her work to keep traditional textile techniques alive with her courses for marginalised women and children during the Pandemic. In 2013, Taslima from Manchetser set up Creative Design and Manufacture UK, a non profit space for artists and designers and an educational environment where people experiencing difficult circumstances can feel safe to share whilst learning new skills. When the Pandemic hit, and her classes forced to close, Taslima delivered 20 sewing machines to her students and ran online textile training sessions to help vulnerable and disadvantaged BAME women to cope with the impact of Covid19. Many of the women and children had no access to outdoor spaces, so the machine was a creative and vital distraction.

In 2018, Shirley Ballas surprised the winners of the Health Project category with their National Lottery Award. Breast Cancer Care's support app, BECCA, helps people move forward after breast cancer, and Shirley presented the trophy to a group of women in Glasgow, who use the app. The project was close to Shirley's heart as she had gone through a cancer scare herself around the same time.

Shirley, who originally hails from The Wirral in the North West, said:- "In 2018 I was fortunate enough to visit a National Lottery funded project and see 1st hand where funding goes and how valuable it is to those in the community. Its thanks to National Lottery players that ₤30 million is raised for good causes every week. The last 14 months have been extremely tough on us all. But as we hope for better days ahead, we are constantly astounded by the way people and projects responded to adversity with heroic yet simple acts of love, kindness and selflessness that will be long remembered. I have been fortunate to witness how hard these local heroes work and how deserving they are of these awards and accolades. They should be celebrated and will only be celebrated if you put them forward, so please get nominating!"

Encompassing all aspects of National Lottery good causes funding, the 2021 National Lottery Awards are seeking to recognise outstanding individuals in the following sectors:-

► Culture, Arts and Film.

► Heritage.

► Sport.

► Community/Charity.

There will be a special Young Hero Award for someone under the age of 18 who has gone that extra mile in their organisation. All nominees must work or act for a National Lottery funded organisation or have received National Lottery funding.

Winners of these categories will be chosen by a judging panel made up of members of the National Lottery family and partners.

In addition, projects from any sector who have received National Lottery funding are eligible to enter The National Lottery Project of the Year category. 16 shortlisted finalists will compete in a UK wide public vote in September to claim this title.

To make your nomination for this year's National Lottery Awards, tweet @LottoGoodCauses with your suggestions or complete an entry form through our website:- LotteryGoodCauses.Org.uk/Awards. Entries must be received by midnight, on 7 June 2021.