Members of ten award-winning community groups from the East Midlands were invited to attend the East Midlands Empowerment Conference in Derby on Friday 5^th February to tell local councillors from across the region about their outstanding successes, and to receive an Empowerment Achievement Award and cheque for £2000.

The Empowerment Achievement Awards, run by the East Midlands Empowerment Partnership (EMEP), were set up to help bring people together and champion empowerment work across the region. The Awards celebrate and reward the inspirational work that is going on in communities across the East Midlands and the programme was open to resident-run projects that are making a real difference for local people in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. 

From 65 excellent applications, ten outstanding projects were selected as being truly inspirational examples of good practice and community success: Bagworth and Thornton Parish Plan Group (Leics.); Bellamy Road Tenants and Residents Association (BRTARA) (Mansfield, Notts.); Elmton & Creswell Village Company (ECVC) (Worksop, Notts.); Focus Charity (Leicester); Gainsborough Riverside Committee (Lincs.); Hand in Hand Tenants and Residents Association (Leicester); Improving the Donington Environment for All Ltd. (IDEA) (Spalding, Lincs.); Old Post Regeneration (Swadlincote, Derbs.); Startafresh (Stamford, Lincolnshire); and The Hope Project (Wellingborough, Northants). 

The award-winning groups range from Tenants & Residents’ Associations and Parish Plan groups who are planning and delivering improvements to services and facilities in their local neighbourhoods, to groups running community events and centres, and projects that offer new opportunities to specific groups including socially excluded adults and young people. What the winning projects have in common is the fact that they are run by and for residents and have achieved momentous successes in improving the quality of life in their communities. 

The awards were presented at EMEP’s ‘Councillors Shaping Communities’ conference, which was funded by the East Midlands Improvement & Efficiency Partnership (EM IEP). The event was set up to motivate councillors towards getting more involved in projects in their communities, and to highlight successful projects through the awards ceremony. Members from each award-winning project delivered inspiring presentations on their work to the audience of local councillors, and each project received a £2000 cheque to put towards their good work, and a framed award certificate, presented to them by a local councilor from their area.

Cllr Chris Williamson, Chairman of the East Midlands Empowerment Partnership (which offers a range of services and events to help people and organisations across the East Midlands to be empowered and communicate with, and learn from, each other) said: “It’s inspiring to see East Midlands people are committing to make life better for everyone in their neighbourhood. EMEP is very proud to be recognising amazing projects and organisations, and we hope that hearing about their successes will motivate others to become involved and help create a real sense of community in their area”.

For more information on the Empowerment Awards, the award-winning projects and the conference, visit www.emep.org.uk