This year’s Bristol Young Heroes have had their bravery and hard work recognised and celebrated at a star-studded awards ceremony. The awards aim to lift the lid of the amazing young people aged 11-19 across the city, particularly those who have overcome difficult circumstances, made a difference in the lives of others or achieved great things.
On Friday 1 October, over 300 guests gathered at We The Curious for a glitzy gala awards evening to celebrate the 2021 Bristol Young Heroes Awards and see the winners announced. Hosted by former BBC Bristol presenter Emma Britton, the event saw 11 awards given out for astonishing acts of compassion, good deeds and courage.
Among the award winners of the night were Megan and Grace who were walking home from school when they witnessed an awful road traffic accident. Despite the terrible scene in front of them, both girls stayed and were able to support those injured whilst also calling for help. The girls saved the lives of multiple people that day.
CJ Fitton won the overall Young Hero 2021 Award for her ability to overcome a series of extremely challenging personal circumstances and issues, and to come out of the other side. Nominated by Youth Moves, she has been working and campaigning to improve the situation for other young people in a similar position, improving the accessibility of mental health support.
Another winner, Erika Wintle was recognised for her outstanding commitment and support throughout the pandemic as she took it upon herself to support Youth Moves by running online sessions for younger groups and is now an incredible asset to the team.
Amy Kington, CEO of Community of Purpose, the organisers of the awards, said, “Every one of our winners sets an inspiring example for the people of Bristol – showing that our communities are full of individuals who are determined to make the world a better place.
“We were delighted to be able to hold the awards in person this year, after having to do them virtually in 2020. It added to the whole experience for our nominees to be part of this fantastic night, meeting local celebrities, sponsors and people from all across the city that had come to recognise their achievements. A huge congratulations to all of our worthy winners for 2021.”
Awards were given out by a host of local faces including Bristol actor Joe Sims, Great British Bake Off’s Briony Williams, Vice-Chancellor of UWE Bristol Professor Steve West and Bristol Deputy Mayor Cllr Asher Craig. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, who was unable to attend in person, sent a video message to all the finalists.
There were 11 categories altogether – including the new category of Covid Hero and the overall Young Hero 2021 Award, selected from the winners of the other 11 categories.
The full list of winners are as follows:
- Action Hero – Dwayne Mclaren
- Arts & Culture Hero – Mariama Sanneh
- Caring Hero – Louis Pang
- Covid Hero – Erika Wintle
- Enterprise Hero – Shelena Artman
- Environmental Hero – Bradley Ford
- Learning Hero – R.J Gingell
- Sporting Hero – Gabe Rusenieks
- Super Hero – Megan & Grace Elder
- Team of Heroes – St George House
- High Sheriff’s Award – Jade Bailey
- Overall Young Hero 2021 – C.J Fitton
You can watch the event again here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECWR7oClT0
This year’s Bristol Young Heroes Awards were sponsored and supported by UWE Bristol, with GKN and National Lottery Community Fund as the leading principal partners.
Bristol Young Heroes Awards Nominations for 2022 will be launching on 1 February 2022!
For more information, visit https://communityofpurpose.com/projects/bristol-young-heroes-awards/
Follow the awards for the latest information @CommofPurpose on Twitter and Instagram and @CommunityofPurpose on Facebook.