“We want to show the public that there are lots of young people out there who are making a huge contribution to society and sometimes they do this by making personal sacrifices to help the wider community or their families.”

THERE is still time to enter The Mayor’s Young People Awards which have been supported by the Ely Standard and several Ely businesses.

The awards are the brainchild of Ely mayor John Yates and aim to help change the negative perception that some people have of young people, and also reward youngsters who have made a significant contribution to society. There will be cash prizes and certificates and all winners will be featured in the Ely Standard.

“It is really important that the public perception of youth is not one of miscreants or anti- social individuals because this is certainly not the norm, especially in somewhere like Ely,” Mr Yates told the Ely Standard. “We want to show the public that there are lots of young people out there who are making a huge contribution to society and sometimes they do this by making personal sacrifices to help the wider community or their families.

The Mayor’s Young People Awards will run on a monthly basis for the next six months until the end of the mayoral year.

The award scheme has been sponsored by the following local groups and businesses.

Ely City District Guides, Archer & Archer, Waitrose, Tesco, Ely Hereward Rotary Club, the Ely Standard and ADeC.

The October award has been sponsored by the Ely Hereward Rotary Club and is being represented by the club’s president Maurice Weller

He said: “Young people today so often get a bad press and it is important to try to redress the balance and also highlight all the great kids out there who are doing wonderful things in their lives. The Mayor’s Young People Awards are a splendid way of recognising this and as ‘youth’ is the theme for my presidential year at the Ely Hereward Rotary Club we gladly support these awards.”

How it works

The award scheme is open to young people from the Ely area (not surrounding villages) who are aged from 10-19 years old. There are three age categories.

10-12 years

13-15 years

16-19

Following this week’s launch we are asking for nominations for each age category. It also proposed to have an overall winner at the end of the six months who will be chosen from the monthly winners.

How to enter

Entry is by nomination. Tell us in no more than 150 words why you think you or someone else should win a Mayor’s Young People Award. Nomination forms are available from the Ely Standard website at: www.elystandard24.co.uk, the city council offices in Market Street in Ely, ADeC at Waterside in Ely and Ely Library or telephone: 01353 645691. All nominations must be in by October 19 and the winners will be announced by the end of October.

minations must be in by October 19 and the winners will be announced by the end of October.