Story by Graham Jones | Photos by Anwar Suliman
On 17th July in the Nelson Mandela room of the Town Hall over a hundred people from Burngreave came to the Burngreave Community Star Awards. The awards were given to people who had given something to our community, whether as volunteers, organisations or as professionals.
It was a glittering and buzzing event opened by the Lord Mayor Anne Murphy who said, “It is a pleasure to present these awards. We should celebrate our community groups and volunteers.” It was attended by all three Burngreave councillors, Mark Jones, Jackie Drayton, and Talib Hussain.
Jackie Drayton was the indefatigable and entertaining MC. This event was a showcase for the amazing achievements of local people. There were a lot of awards but each one indicated the wonderful work that is being done in Burngreave by the people who live there. The winners all had the commitment and courage to stand up and work for their community. Many of these people quietly work away for years without pay improving the lives of local residents. I challenge anyone from Burngreave not to be impressed and humbled by the awesome work that is going on every day around us. We should all feel so proud to be part of this community.
At the end of both award sessions, SOSA-XA! (Sounds of Southern Africa Choir) sang with energy and passion in Zulu, Shona, and Xhosa but this did not prevent audience participation too!
There was a special award for Naomi Hinch, locality officer for North East Sheffield who organised the event and is a true star in her own right. Naomi has done some fantastic work in our area in her years in the post but is now leaving to undertake teacher training. Our loss will be her pupils’ gain.
Jackie Drayton summed the evening up, “Tonight has shown what wonderful people are doing great things in Burngreave.”
