The 27th annual West Cork Garda Youth Awards, in association with SuperValu, has just been launched by An Garda Síochána in West Cork.
The West Cork Garda Youth Awards celebrate outstanding young people between the ages of 13 and 21 years. Awards will be considered for nominated young people who, by their presence, make their communities in West Cork a better place to live in.
This year, the process for nominations will remain the same, and Gardai will be distributing nomination forms to schools, youth groups and voluntary organisations right across West Cork. Following on from the judging in May, award winners will be notified by the organising committee. The presentation ceremony will take place on Friday, May 26 in the West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen.
It’s important to remember that due to Covid, there hasn’t been the same opportunity for young people to become involved with activities or projects compared to previous years. However, many young people were active on the ground throughout the Covid 19 crisis, volunteering and becoming involved in a variety of projects that supported both the vulnerable in the community, and the frontline services.
The nomination forms are now available from any SuperValu store in the West Cork Garda Division, and also at Garda Stations throughout West Cork. Application forms will also be distributed by the Community Gardai in each local Garda District. Electronic versions of the nomination form are available from westcorkgardayouthawards@garda.ie
The Award Categories are; Individual Award, Group Award, Community Safety Award and a Special Achievement Award.
The Individual Award is open to young people who have made a positive contribution to their community, making it a better place to live.
The Group Award category applies for groups of two or more young people whose combined efforts have contributed positively to their communities.
The Community Safety Award is for a young person, or group who, through a crime prevention or safety innovation, have made their community a safer place to live.
The Special Achievement category is open to any young person who has overcome difficult circumstances, or defied the odds and whose commitment deserves recognition.
In launching this year’s Awards, Chief Superintendent Vincent O’Sullivan from Bandon Garda Station commented “The nomination process is open to everyone, so if you know of a young person who is committed to making a difference to their community, please put them forward. We wish to promote and honour the positive contribution of the youth of today, who are the leaders of tomorrow”.
Inspector Ian O’Callaghan, Bandon Garda Station, who is Chairman of the Organising Committee, remarked “We wish to recognise the sacrifices made by young people, as they contribute to their community, both at a local level, and also in wider areas. An Garda Síochána would like to pay tribute to SuperValu for their continued sponsorship of the Youth Awards, and to the Irish Examiner for their support as Media Partner.”
As SuperValu stores are independently owned by families who live and work in their local communities, SuperValu truly believes in supporting the local community in which they operate. The West Cork SuperValu stores which have sponsored these Youth Awards for the past 25 years are Caulfield’s SuperValu Bandon, Smith’s SuperValu Kinsale, Healy’s SuperValu Dunmanway, O’Leary’s SuperValu Macroom, Boherbue Coop, Field’s SuperValu Skibbereen, Murphy’s SuperValu Castletownbere, O’Keeffe’s SuperValu Bantry, Scally’s SuperValu Clonakilty and O’Keeffe’s SuperValu Millstreet.
The closing date for the applications is Friday, April 28, 2023.
Application forms are to be submitted to:
Garda Damian White,
Juvenile Liaison Officer,
Bandon Garda Station, or
Garda Don Davis,
Juvenile Liaison Officer,
Bantry Garda Station.
Forms can also be emailed to: westcorkgardayouthawards@garda.ie
