Faithworks is making a final call to Christians to nominate their community projects for the chance to win a share of £20,000, the total prize money up for grabs at this year's Faithworks Awards.
Now in its fifth year, the Faithworks Awards programme exists to celebrate the work and commitment of Christians across the UK who are effectively serving the needs of their local communities.
"The awards will honour community projects making a positive difference to the lives of people locally, aspiring to professionalism and valuing all people," said Faithworks.
They will also be a welcome cash injection to allow the continued development of such projects.
Among the awards up for grabs is the 'Improving the Lives of Children and Young People Award 2007', sponsored by Spurgeons Network. The award seeks to recognise the vital work of Christian-motivated projects that are positively and professionally impacting the lives of disadvantaged children and young people.
Other awards include the Community Inclusion Award 2007, sponsored by Oasis UK, the Community Excellence Award 2007, sponsored by Congregational & General Insurance, the Faithworks Members Award 2007 for Community Commitment, and the Faithworks Lifetime Achievement Award. This final award will honour an individual whose lifelong dedication to the service and wellbeing of others reflects the example of Christ.
The two previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award are Bob Holman, a leading academic who took the unusual step of moving to live and work on a deprived estate in Glasgow, and Robina Rafferty, the former head of the church housing agency Housing Justice, who devoted her working life to campaigning for better housing rights in the UK.
The head of the Faithworks Movement, the Rev Malcolm Duncan, said that the awards would celebrate the unsung heroes of UK communities.
”Across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, people motivated by Christian faith are contributing to their communities, strengthening cohesion and playing their part in building a better world," he said. "At a time where there is so much negativity and criticism of the role of faith in British life, the Faithworks Awards remind us that Christians across the country are continuing to make a positive difference.”
The recipients of the 2006 Faithworks Awards were Beachy Head Chaplaincy Trust, which saves hundreds of lives each year through intervention and aftercare services at the notorious suicide hotspot in Eastbourne; Barnabas Workshops, which delivers training, advice and job skills information to help people get back into work in the London Borough of Redbridge; and Open Door - Tyneside, an organisation working with failed asylum seekers in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Other shortlisted projects spanned the areas of housing, education, youth and children, pensioners, immigrants, counseling and mental health.
The applications deadline for each of the four £5000 grants is Friday 27 July.
