THE Pride of St Helens Awards, sponsored by Mikhail Hotel & Leisure Group, will take place on Friday, November 22.
In Thursday's Star (November 14 edition, in shops now) we published a 16-page supplement profiling each of the shortlisted nominees for this year's ceremony.
Throughout this week ahead of the event at the Totally Wicked Stadium, we will be sharing our categories of nominees with you.
Here are your nominees for the Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group Pride of St Helens Awards – Pride of Place Award, sponsored by Swindells Roofing.
Friends of Victoria Park
THE Friends of Victoria Park is a community group that aims to improve and maintain the much-loved St Helens park for the local community and wider public.
Since its inception in 2005, the group has organised a number of events in and around the park and raised significant funds for these activities.
Friends of Victoria Park are run by volunteers and do not employ any staff.
They are actively exploring, in conjunction with the Council, establishing a social enterprise to own and manage the Gate Lodge following completion of the refurbishment.
As well as this they regularly host St Helens Park run every Saturday morning and the GPW Recruitment St Helens 10k Run each March.
They also stage a wide array of concerts and family events in the bandstand which are beneficial to the community.
Diane Tabern, chairperson of the group said: “We are very proud of our park and the community it serves and want to do everything we can to help it thrive and have people enjoy it as much as possible.
“We believe if we get all to love and appreciate our park, starting from children then they will learn to look after their parks and surroundings and that’s what it’s all about.”
The World of Glass
BUILT in 2000, the World of Glass is a key part of the town centre landscape and aims to preserve the heritage and the traditions of glass making that St Helens is built upon.
The visitor attraction not only informs visitors about the origins of glass thousands of years ago, right up to amazing contemporary pieces made today, it also houses a history museum of St Helens, live glass blowing demonstrations, a gift shop, café and an art gallery. Upstairs is a shared working space and the site also houses St Helens Library.
Additionally the venue - which is a charity reliant on donations - and its staff are at the centre of creativity and expression in the town, often hosting events promoting things such as St Helens Pride and local artists.
Discussing the venue’s nomination in the Pride of Place category, Sarah Taylor said: “We are so pleased to be nominated for the Pride of St Helens Awards.
“The World of Glass is an independent charity that has delivered in the town centre for the last 24 years.
“We offer unique experiences to our local community such as glass blowing and year round family activities. “We are proud to promote the heritage and culture of St Helens and it’s great to be recognized for it.”
Park Farm CC
PARK Farm Community Centre is an integral hub to the community it serves, making it an ideal candidate for the Pride of Place category.
Made up mostly of volunteers, the centre offers support in various forms to the areas of Clinkham Wood and Moss Bank, helping those in need and providing crucial and affordable care.
One of many branches of the site is to offer after school clubs, as well as out of hours care for youths who may not be able to attend regular after school settings.
They often host special events at no or very little cost to help children in the community.
The venue hosts regular fitness and wellness classes and a crucial food pantry each Thursday, and each Christmas gathers toy donations to give to the less privileged in the area.
To support their fantastic work, they received National Lottery Funding of £377,266 in 2023 to help them keep doing incredible work for the future and provide even more things offering more physical exercise sessions, social groups for older people, pop up cafes, taking activities into the community and work with adults and older people.
When discussing the nomination, volunteers said: “We are all passionate about giving back to our community. “It may not be an area known for being well off but it has a lot of heart and that’s what we are about. “Being here for anyone in need and helping at little or no cost as much as possible.”
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