Volunteering Awards 2009

Each year Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil holds an awards ceremony to recognise and reward local volunteers for their outstanding achievements.  The awards are a celebration of the time, commitment and energy that so many people give freely and without payment to support other people in the community.

In 2009, we again held 2 events:

The first was a Volunteers’ Certificate Awards ceremony held during the 25th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week on Thursday June 4 at the Penydarren Club in Merthyr Tydfil.

Robert Sidoli congratulates volunteers from Merthyr and Valley Minds.

Over 250 volunteers and representatives of voluntary groups joined local celebrities celebrate the 25th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week. Karen Brown, popular Valleys Radio broadcaster, hosted the evening while the Mayor and Mayoress and local rugby legend Robert Sidoli presented recognition certificates signed by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister, to volunteers.

Councillor Jeff Edwards MBE, Leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, also spoke about how important volunteering is to the local community and thanked all the volunteers on behalf of the local authority for their dedication and hard work.

During the evening, the audience was treated to performances from the 3Gs Development Trust choir and dance group and the evening ended with a performance by Kirsty Leigh, popular young singer from Gellideg.

The second event was a Volunteers’ Certificate Awards 2009 that took place at the Penydarren Club in Merthyr Tydfil on July 16th 2009.

Young person of the Year, Claire Price with Karen Brown and Owen Money

Owen Money and Karen Brown formally of Valleys Radio co-hosted the evening and introduced the winners of 9 award categories.  Guest speakers were Dai Havard MP and Cllr Jeff Edwards MBE, Leader of Merthyr Council. The entertainment for the evening was provided by Peter Karrie, Legendary Phantom of the Opera star and local singer Kirsty Leigh from Gellideg.

Ian Davy, Chief Officer of VAMT, said:

“The high standard of nominations we received and the attendance at the evening’s celebration demonstrates the outstanding commitment and dedication shown by volunteers across the borough and the tremendous impact they have upon their local community”.

VAMT’s Volunteering Officer Karen Foley, said:

“Without volunteers, many groups would be unable to provide the support that is needed within the community.  All volunteers who regularly give their time, energy and skills, deserve recognition for the invaluable work they do and we’d like to thank the sponsors of the event for making this evening possible.”