Organisers of Celebrate Aberdeen have launched a new awards event to further shine a light on the city’s third sector.
The inaugural Celebrate Aberdeen Awards will be held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) on Saturday, September 8 and will give recognition to individuals and organisations that make an outstanding contribution within the Granite City.
As well as providing support for the Celebrate Aberdeen August event, which takes place annually and features a large third sector parade, Nexen Petroleum UK Limited has also signed up as the platinum sponsor for the awards.
More than 350 people are expected to attend the event and thanks to the support of the local business community, all shortlisted organisations and individuals will be able to attend the awards for free.
Categories include: Large Charity of the Year; Small Charity of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; Fundraising Campaign of the Year; and Heart of the Community.
Award entries are now open and the deadline for submissions is Friday, June 29.
Celebrate Aberdeen organising volunteer Emily Findlay has benefitted directly from a number of local charities in the area and is delighted to be involved in this new initiative.
Originally from Orkney, but now living in Aberdeen while she undertakes an event management course at the North East Scotland College, Emily has been battling aggressive cancer neuroblastoma for more than eight years.
Throughout she has been supported by charities including CLAN Cancer Support, Maggie’s Aberdeen, Friends of Anchor and The ARCHIE Foundation and has seen first-hand what great work they do.
Emily said: “The support these organisations provide is of such huge importance to so many. I have been fighting cancer since I was 14 years old and have relied heavily on numerous charities for all sorts of reasons, some practical, some more around emotional support.
“They do such tremendous work and often work tirelessly for little recognition, so it’s great to have a platform like Celebrate Aberdeen from which we can highlight the great work that they do.
“Building on the parade we organise in August, the inaugural Celebrate Aberdeen Awards will help us to highlight the work the third sector carries out in Aberdeen and shine a light on those who make such a difference to those they work with.”
The Celebrate Aberdeen Awards will be organised by a team of volunteers who are currently looking to sign up additional sponsors for the event.
Emily continued: “While our Celebrate Aberdeen team can undertake lots of the work on a voluntary basis, such as the event management and publicity activity, we do still need the support of our local business community to ensure those people representing the third sector, whether that be a charity, social enterprise or voluntary group, enjoy a night that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Ray Riddoch, Nexen’s managing director UK & Sr. VP Europe, said: “Giving back to the communities where we live and work is deeply rooted in Nexen’s values and we are very excited about our on-going partnership with Celebrate Aberdeen. Our investment in the event reflects the importance Nexen places on supporting the third sector and the excellent work they do.
“Celebrate Aberdeen is a fantastic example of collaboration between charities, the local community and business and embodies Nexen’s cultural belief of ‘win together.’ We are looking forward to the awards event in September and would encourage other businesses to play their part and support the third sector and Celebrate Aberdeen.
Registration for the Celebrate Aberdeen Union Street parade and online entry for the Celebrate Aberdeen Awards can be found at: www.celebrateaberdeen.org