As the overall winner of the Wolverhampton Young Citizen of the Year in the 18-25 age group, Kye was recognised for his incredible work as an advocate of the City’s Care Leavers – Care Leavers are children in care who at the age of 16 leave care and move to independent living.
Kye’s own journey of development has enabled him to play a significant role in the Care Leavers Forum for Wolverhampton ensuring it is an environment which is inclusive of all Care Leavers and works to achieve the best outcomes possible for Care Leavers in the City.
As a result of Kye’s work Care Leavers in the City are now exempt from paying Council Tax. Kye has also been part of the development of The House Project for Wolverhampton, a scheme that provides young people an opportunity to develop their independence skills, which has received national recognition.
Megan was recognised for her work to improve the lives of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, SEND for short, and their families in the City of Wolverhampton.
As an active member of HY5! – a forum which gives young people with SEND an opportunity to come together and share their views and experiences – Megan represents the voices and opinions of other young people and helps to train professionals who work with children and young people with SEND.
Through the work of HY5! Youth Forum Megan encourages other young people to have their voices heard and to help shape better futures for people with SEND
Caroline was recognised for her with Beatsabar, a project music workshop based at Newhampton Arts Centre, helping disadvantaged and disenfranchised young people.
As a volunteer with the project Caroline leads groups in songwriting and music making activities helping them to increase their confidence, raise their self esteem and to help make positive changes in their lives.
The judges recognised Caroline as a true leader who is making a difference in her volunteer work through her compassion, commitment and attitude.
Annette was recognised for her commitment to improving outcomes for young people in Wolverhampton.
An active member of the City’s Youth Council, Annete was previously a member of the Whitmore Reans Youth Ambassadors which is a group who meet to highlight local issues affecting young people to decision makers in the City.
As Chair of the Culture and Diversity Forum she has helped to frame sexual health and healthy relationships content in the Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) curriculum.
Annette has also represented the City at the West Midlands Police Youth Summit as well as being part of the Dying to Talk project which seeks to spark conversations and disseminate knowledge about death, dying and bereavement amongst young people.
She has been an amazing representative for young people in Wolverhampton.
Ramandeep was recognised for her display of an outstanding level of kindness and commitment to helping others.
As a volunteer with the Midland Langar Seva Society, a charity for the homeless, she has supported some of the most vulnerable in the local community.
During Covid she was involved in the ”Spreading Kindness” project, regularly sending letters and pieces of artwork to elderly residents in care homes, helping them to feel less alone during those difficult times.
As an anti-bullying ambassador at Wolverhampton Girl’s High School Ramandeep has helped develop projects around the positive use of social media, how to deal with peer pressure and positivity challenges in order to support the mental health and well-being of students. She has also led and assisted with several fund raising events in school to support Save the Children, Islamic Relief and the Ukraine DEC appeal.
Molly was recognised for her volunteer work and as a volunteer with the Royal Life Saving Society helps to deliver weekly life saving skills and first aid training to young people in order to keep themselves and others safe.
During the 2020 lockdown Molly became a founding member and one of the leaders of the local NCS – National Citizen Service social action group where the numerous projects included collecting donations from the local community to help the more vulnerable and marginalized members of society to see them through the winter. She collected over 200 essential items which were donated to the Good Shepherd Shelter.
Molly’s passion for helping others has seen her work with Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation “Feed Our Pack” project, where she made and distributed over 250 food packages to the people of Wolverhampton who were most affected by the pandemic, and on projects to support the homeless.
Louis was recognised for his outstanding fundraising and volunteering work. In the last 11 years he has raised over £48,000 to help charities such as Birmingham Childrens Hospital, Compton Care and the Mayor’s Charity.
Despite facing ongoing health issues of his own, his volunteering work has and continues to help the elderly and the vulnerable in his community.
This week saw the award of Rotary’s Wolverhampton Young Citizen of the Year Award celebrating the personal courage, care for others, achievement or contribution to the community of some of the City’s most inspiring young people.
The event was hosted by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Sandra Samuels with Guest of Honour Lisa Webb, who was given Freedom of the City for both her charity work and her incredible bravery as a young teacher when she protected children from a knifeman at her school in 1996.
We’re taking the opportunity to recognise each of our finalists and to express our thanks to them for the difference which they are making in our community.
The four Rotary Clubs of Wolverhampton would also like to extend our thanks to the Award patrons whose help makes the Awards possible:
Following the heaviest recorded summer rainfall for over a decade Pakistan has been hit with floods which have affected over 33 million people, over 15% of the country’s population, with at least 1,136 people losing their lives since the monsoon season began in June.
Early estimates from Pakistan’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, put the cost of the damage at £8.5 billion, with remote communities cut off, communication lines damaged and 150 bridges destroyed.
Around 1 million homes in the affected areas have been damaged or destroyed, leaving behind millions in need of urgent shelter.
Tettenhall Rotary Club has made a donation to ShelterBox, Rotary’s global partner in disaster relief, who already have people on the ground.
Shelterbox are focusing their attention on the most affected areas of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The charity has a huge amount of experience supporting communities affected by flooding having responded to flooding at least 75 times since 2000, providing emergency aid and support to tens of thousands of families around the globe.
The work of the charity – which was founded in Helston, Cornwall, UK by Rotarian Tom Henderson, OBE, with the support of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard – recognises that recovery starts with shelter. Having somewhere dry and warm to sleep, to prepare meals and be with your family is vital in helping people start the long process of rebuilding their lives. Emergency shelter offers privacy and helps to preserve dignity. It offers protection from the elements, animals and disease. It helps keep communities together. It can help to bring back a sense of normality, allowing children to go back to school. Most importantly, it empowers families to start the process of getting back on their feet.
In addition to tents and tarpaulins each Shelterbox contains essential items such as water purification equipment, tools and cooking utensils to help those affected recover and to rebuild their homes.
From Cameroon to Syria, all the way to the Philippines and the Caribbean, Shelterbox have provided shelter to over 2 million people so far. You can help to support their work by donating now at https://shelterbox.org/donate/
Wolverhampton’s four local Rotary Clubs and the James Beattie Charitable Trust have teamed up to offer small grants to local groups.
We’ve got a fund of £10,000 available to help individuals, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise groups working in our community to overcome problems arising from deprivation, poverty, disability and lack of opportunity.
This new fund follows on from similar schemes in earlier years which have demonstrated how small grants can have a big impact, helping individuals and groups through challenging times.
Groups and individuals who are established in their communities can apply for grants of between £250 and £500.
Applicants will be expected to demonstrate how a grant would make a difference to the well-being of local people and open up opportunities for them to develop their abilities and skills.
We’ll need to know the number of people who will benefit from the grant and the extent and duration of the impact on them and the community. People benefiting from the grant must have a connection to the Wolverhampton area in terms of living or working in the City, or receiving services from an organisation based there.
Complete and email your application (as a Word attachment) to rotarysmallgrants@gmail.com by no later than 10th October 2022. Please quoting CFS22 in the subject line followed by the name of your organisation.
What happens next?
You’ll receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application will then be evaluated by an assessment team, who may need to contact you to ask for further information by email or telephone.
By 1st December you’ll be receive an email from us telling you whether or not your application has been successful – payments to successful applicants will be made very shortly afterwards.
