The closing date to nominate entries for the Cathaoirleach’s Community Awards has been extended to give more time to put forward those groups and individuals who have supported their communities in the past year.
The Cathaoirleach’s Awards are an annual initiative to acknowledge the commitment of individuals and groups who participate in unpaid community and voluntary activities which benefit their communities.
The Awards for the past year of 2020 are meant to especially honour the work of voluntary groups which became more valuable than ever in supporting people in times of great stress and isolation.
Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr James Charity said “The awards of 2020 are particularly important as we celebrate the many selfless volunteers who have supported our communities, our vulnerable, and those who have been impacted in so many ways since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“To that end, we have amended the Award Categories to reflect these particular challenges of the year gone by.”
Added to the list of awards this year is the COVID-19 Community Response Award, which is meant specifically to honour those who provided “practical and social supports to vulnerable individuals” during the pandemic.
In recognition of the fact that so much was contributed by so many towards this cause, there will be a separate award per Municipal District in this Category.
The other categories open are the Culture and Creativity Award, Environment and Natural Heritage Award, Health & Wellbeing Award, Irish Language Award, and of course the Individual Volunteer of the Year Award.
All nominations for community or individual awards must be submitted no later than Thursday, June 3.
