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Hurry! Nominate inspirational young people for the Diana Award
DO you know
any inspirational young people in your school or community that
deserve the Diana Award? All across the UK there are courageous,
caring, compassionate young people who are an inspiration to all of
us and the Diana Award is looking for their nominations by 14 March
2008.
The Diana Award is a living legacy to the late Princess; it is given
to ordinary young people, aged 12 to 18, who go that extra mile to
make a difference to the lives of their friends, families, schools
and communities. With over 22,000 Diana Award Holders across
the UK, they include young people who have been brave or overcome
immense personal difficulties, as well as young carers, fundraisers,
campaigners, mentors and others.
The Diana Anti-Bullying Award, which is in addition to the main
award, recognises the work that young people of all ages do to
combat the problem of bullying in schools and communities.
Both Awards are valued highly by their holders because they never
expect to receive this kind of recognition for their work. The
nomination process is simple and young people are put forward by
their schools, education authorities or youth organisations for
their existing courage, compassion or commitment.
This is an Award for Life and through a National Membership Network
Award Holders benefit from skills, training and networking
opportunities to realise their full potential.
Maggie Turner, Director of the Diana Award, says:- “The Diana
Award gives public recognition to young unsung heroes who give their
time and expertise without seeking reward for themselves. Within
communities and schools across the UK there will be young people who
have done something wonderful and we welcome nominations.”
To make a nomination for the Diana Award or the Diana Anti-Bullying
Award visit
www.diana-award.org.uk or phone
them via calling:-
0845 3372987.
Did you see the rare
lunar spectacle?
IF you like to
see astronomical events, you might have been one of the many
thousands of people who braved the cold to watch the moon turn red
in a total lunar eclipse from British turf early on Thursday 21
February 2008. The total eclipse happened between 3:01am and 3:52am,
with the partial eclipse beginning at 1.43am and finishing at
5.09am, many tried to take a look. Sadly for most, cloud cover meant
it was a sight that would be missed. However, a few lucky people in
North Wales, Pembrokeshire and the Gower Coast towards Swansea,
parts of Lancashire, Devon and Cornwall did manage to capture a few
glimpses of this magical event, through the haze and the odd parting
in the clouds.
Let us know if you
got a glimpse of it. Better still, if you took a picture, please
send it in to us at
news24@southportreporter.com!
Royal Astronomical Society told us that:- "Many people get to
see this event unlike a total eclipse of the Sun. Sadly, this time
it was the last chance to watch a Total Lunar Eclipse, in the UK
until 28 September 2015."
A total eclipse occurs when the full Moon moves into the Earth's
shadow and although it becomes dimmed, it can still be seen because
it is lit by the sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere.
The stronger atmospheric scattering of blue light means that the
light that reaches the lunar surface is predominantly red in colour
so observers on Earth see the moon appear brick-coloured, rusty,
blood-red or sometimes dark grey, depending on the terrestrial
conditions. |
NATIONWIDE AND HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND LAUNCH NATIONAL SEARCH FOR
LOCAL HEROES
NATIONWIDE
Building Society has teamed up with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
to launch the Nationwide Community and Heritage Awards 2008,
inviting the public to nominate people or groups who deserve
recognition for community or voluntary work that has made a real
difference to people's lives.
Nominations for the very best and most inspirational volunteers in
the UK can be made from today, for either:-
* Community Champion - recognition for those who have made an impact
in their local community.
* Heritage Hero -
recognition for those who have volunteered to become involved in
saving a part of their heritage and sharing it with others.
The awards were previously known as the Nationwide Awards for
Voluntary Endeavour (NAVE) and had a very successful ten year
history recognising over 13,000 people from across the country. The
new Nationwide and HLF partnership will enable more unsung heroes to
be recognised for their tremendous efforts as volunteers.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:- "Volunteers make a
difference every day to life in our communities and they are hugely
important to the nation as a whole. These awards will celebrate the
contribution of those everyday heroes who do so much for our
national life and I congratulate them all for what they have done."
Michelle Leighton, Nationwide's community & environmental affairs
manager, said:- "Nationwide is immensely proud of the strong
links it has with local communities. There are many people who
volunteer their time on a regular basis to help support others. If
you know of anyone who deserves recognition for their volunteering
please make sure you nominate them. Together with the Heritage
Lottery Fund we want to celebrate the efforts of these dedicated
volunteers whilst widening the scope of these already successful
awards."
Stephen Boyce, HLF's deputy director of operations, said:-
"Volunteers are particularly vital to the heritage sector and well
over half of the 26,000 projects we have supported just could not
have happened without them. Our research tells us that in just two
years we funded projects involving 75,000 volunteers, who together
gave over one million hours of their time to the UK's heritage."
2007's winner of the individual adult award, Jane Plumb, said:-
"I was delighted to be chosen as the overall winner. As chairman
of the Group B Strep Support charity I spend much of my time
counselling pregnant women and families who are affected by Group B
Streptococcal infection. We now have over 600 members so the money I
have been awarded will go a long way to helping even more families
and to increase the current levels of support further."
Start nominating now:-
Nomination forms can be found online at
nationwide.co.uk and
hlf.org.uk. Leaflets and nomination forms will be available from
Monday 25 February 2008 from local Nationwide Building Society branches, HLF outlets, public libraries and via local newspapers. The closing
date for nominations is Monday 28 April 2008. A series of regional
events for short-listed nominations will be taking place up and down
the country at a variety of heritage venues.
The final will take
place in London during November 2008. |
