North Herts heroes honoured

The winners of this year’s Chair’s Community Recognition Awards were announced on Friday (11 March) at a ceremony live streamed and available now on our YouTube channel - where you can also watch a video of the winners talking about their community work.

The awards celebrate people in the district who have gone above and beyond and made a real difference in their local community. Organised by North Herts Council, the awards are sponsored by Willmott Dixon, with The Comet as media partner. This year the Awards were open to anyone in the community, not just volunteers. Each winner was presented with a beautiful, engraved glass trophy and gift voucher to acknowledge their achievements. 

The winners were nominated by members of the public and chosen by a judging panel which comprised of Chair of the Council Cllr Val Bryant, Lea Ellis from North Herts Centre for Voluntary Service (NHCVS), representatives from Willmott Dixon and the editor of The Comet, Georgia Barrow.

Cllr Val Bryant, Chair of the Council, said: “These Awards are a fantastic way for the council to celebrate some of the special people in the district who are going out of their way to make a difference. We know people don’t do it for the glory, but it’s important to give thanks and we hope it will inspire others to think about how they may help the wider community. We are delighted to recognise the hard work, dedication and sheer community spirit of Karen, Bekah, Anni, Nick, and Mia as well as all other nominees.”

The winners of this year’s Chair’s Community Recognition Awards are:

Caring Award – Karen Stephens

Karen has set up a menopause support group in Baldock which currently has around 25 members who meet monthly and also go on walks and do other activities. It’s an invaluable resource for all the women who attend, providing an opportunity to share advice and support in a sociable setting which helps improve mental help. In addition, for eight years Karen organises festive hampers for less fortunate people using the reverse advent idea, encouraging people to collect items through December to then donate them to families and older people at Christmas. She collected over 100 hampers this year and works with settle to distribute them. Karen is also a specially trained Butterfly volunteer at Lister hospital, supporting terminally ill patients, their families and friends at the end of their life.

Karen said: “I love helping others but it’s so lovely to be nominated by two people. The menopause group was started for selfish reasons really, as I couldn’t find any support! I’d had a hysterectomy and decided to start a group as it affects so many people. It’s been great meeting others in a similar position and fabulous to provide this type of support to them.”

Dedication Award – Rebekah Nicolas

Bekah has worked at Hitchin Library for over 10 years, starting as a Saturday assistant in 2007 to becoming the manager in 2016, and during her time became a hugely important part of the community. She made the library a vibrant place to visit in the centre of Hitchin, organising popular events including Star Wars reads, Harry Potter book night and Christmas readings, and hosted Hertfordshire’s very first Artist in Residence programme. Through the annual Summer Reading Challenge Bekah has introduced hundreds, maybe thousands, of children to reading through her passion and spirit.

During the pandemic, Bekah pioneered and delivered regular live baby rhyme sessions online, to allow families to enjoy this vital and popular service. She also ensured that the library continued to deliver a service throughout the lockdown periods, delivering the click-and-collect service, Ready Reads, which was a lifeline for so many local families and residents in Hitchin. Bekah had an active role in the refurbishment of the library in 2017/18, putting the community at the heart of her recommendations.

She has now taken up a new position in the library service, Service Development Manager for Libraries and Heritage Services at Hertfordshire County Council. Bekah said: “Being the manager at Hitchin Library was an incredible honour and working with the fantastic team to provide the wonderful local community an exciting and thriving library service has been a privilege. I am so grateful for my time there and for this award. Libraries are amazing – they’re free and all about sustainability.”

Green Award – Anni Sander

Anni is a green community champion, described as an “ecological support powerhouse”! Her works includes encouraging reusable nappies through a library system, administrating a re-use group and running Plastic Free Hitchin (PFH).  Anni set up the organisation in 2019 to help local businesses, organisations and community groups reduce their reliance on single-use plastics, so one day Hitchin can be declared plastic free!

Anni also co-organised the first two Hitchin Repair Café events, similar to the popular TV programme The Repair Shop, encouraging people to book in their clothes, mechanics and toys to be repaired or fixed, instead of throwing them away. She runs a re-use group on Facebook which has around 5,000 active members who are really grateful for the platform to share items, food and their expertise.  

Anni said: “I understand it’s hard to make the right choices when it comes to the environment, especially when plastic is so convenient. But I want to make it easier for others, like me, to do their bit – every small action does make a difference. I couldn't have done it all without the help and support of others so thanks go to them as well.”

Health Award – Nicholas Jemetta

Nick has committed the last four years – alongside a full-time job and a busy family life – to campaign to improve mental health in workplaces and local communities. He's shared his own story, which includes considering taking his own life, building a substantial following.

His campaign really kicked off during the pandemic, when he started wearing fancy-dress to his work video calls to reduce fatigue and lift the spirits of his colleagues – and while dressed up he found a way to make conversations about mental health less scary and that little bit easier.

The first costume turned into 100 different costumes over 100 days, attending hundreds of work video calls and raising money for charity – the current total is around £10,000 – with local charities benefitting including Samaritans North Herts, Age UK Herts and Phase Hitchin. His costumes also featured on the school run in Letchworth, delighting children, parents and teachers.

Now an award-winning mental health campaigner – a regional finalist for ITV’s Pride of Britain's 'Fundraiser of the Year' – Nick has featured in local and national media and goes by the nickname 'Fancy Dress Dad'. He has recently founded a business, Stories Matter, offering digital marketing and wellbeing consultancy. To reach Nick please email nick@storiesmatter.io

Nick said: “I live and thrive with anxiety. I'm on a mission to show the world that our mental health does not define us. I will continue to help, inspire and give hope to anyone struggling with their mental health. It’s ok to talk about it, I don’t want the next generation to feel ashamed. It’s been great to meet the other award winners, hopefully we’ll keep in touch as I think we could do some amazing work together.”

Young Star – Mia Jaszewska

After Mia's dad died unexpectedly the day before her 14th birthday, she has gone on to raise awareness and promote the needs of young people who have been bereaved, becoming a lead Young Ambassador for local bereavement support charity Stand-by-me in 2020.

Having completed the charity’s support programme and joining the Young Ambassador programme, Mia became aware that there was little support at school and in the community for young people in her situation. She is now very active in supporting and mentoring younger bereaved children, with her confidence growing, taking the lead in raising awareness, including making a podcast for BBC Children in Need in 2020 about the effects of lockdown on the mental health of young people.

Mia is now at university studying textile design but is still raising awareness of the needs of bereaved young people. Mia said: “My work has shown me that childhood bereavement does not define us but does affect us. At the moment I’m working on a project using camouflage patterns to explore how we can create spaces to help people express their emotions, especially after losing someone, as opposed to blending in and disguising them. It’s really nice to be recognised and I want to thank all those who have supported me in my work. For me it’s all about helping others and paying it forward.”

Four other Young Stars were nominated and will receive a certificate:

• Rosie Fletcher from Hitchin helped walk her neighbour’s dog during the pandemic as they were unable to do so.
• Kathryn Osmond from Hitchin took on a huge level of responsibility at home during the pandemic, preparing meals and caring for her younger brother, which allowed her mum to continue her work on the frontline with the NHS.
• Dionne Sealy from Hitchin raised over £600 from the £1 challenge – all students are given £1 and asked to make as much money from it as possible. All the money raised went to Hitchin Food Bank.
• Jack Gower from Letchworth is a full-time wheelchair user and has shown a great determination to overcome any challenge presented to him and is an asset to his school. Outside of school Jack has represented North Herts in both regional and national competitions for T34 wheelchair racing and has competed in the London marathon three times!