25 young people across England and Wales were awarded recognition at Million Minutes’ Celebrating Young People Awards 2022
Set against the backdrop of the London skyline, 115 young people, parents, teachers, youth workers and gathered to celebrate young people from across the country and recognise their contributions to their communities. Hosted by Siobhan McDonagh MP at the Terrace Pavilion, House of Commons, it was a truly memorable evening hearing the stories of how young people are actively making a difference and driving change in the world they see around them.
The awards – now in their fifth year – were powered by Million Minutes. Hundreds of young people were nominated in six categories, each celebrating a different aspect of Catholic social teaching lived out in action. As well as two awards for adults, one for volunteer youth leaders and one for clergy or religious.
Anita Motha, Chief Executive at Million Minutes, said:
We had the privilege to recognise and share the stories of young people from our schools and parishes. Their initiative and drive for creating change in their communities, whether through volunteering, fundraising, or advocacy work, is inspirational. Our future relies on young changemakers and it fills us with hope and joy to celebrate their achievements and accompany them in their journeys.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols presented the Pope Francis award to St Peter’s Mini Vinnies, a brother and sister duo, Rebeca and Daniel, who have shown such generosity to their local community. During lockdown 2020 they gathered items for their local foodbank, and even grew their own vegetables to ensure families had enough fresh vegetables as well as tinned food. They drew cards, posters and wrote kind letters to the elderly who were suffering from loneliness. They are remarkable young people who share everything they can, their time, and resources for the benefit of the vulnerable in their community, and have even donated their birthday wish lists for the good of others.
Cardinal Nichols congratulated the duo on their generosity of spirit and the important examples that can be set by the youngest in our societies. He added he was ‘particularly impressed by the selflessness’ shown in these two young people.
To name a few examples of the awards presented, Christine Allen presented the Barbara Ward Award (Caring for the Environment) to Tom and Harvey. In a statement posted on twitter after receiving the award, Tom said:
“Harvey and I are just two if the thousands of young people across the world dedicating their time to tackling the environmental issues we are facing in today’s current climate. We are so lucky to have been given a platform to raise awareness, spread our true beliefs and most importantly to us, encourage other young people just like us to try their best to make a difference for future generations. We strongly believe we still have a chance to save our planet if we all work together, so all we are asking from you is to stop, think, smile and face this climate crisis with all you have”
The new award for 2022 was the Rutilio Grande and Companions Award, sponsored by the Jesuits in Britain was launched. Aleem Maqbool, Religion Editor for the BBC presented the award to two recipients, Fr Paul Wilkinson and Sr Margaret Walsh. Sr Silvana Dallanegra was Highly Commended.
There are countless stories that can be shared from the evening. Andrew received the Dorothy Day Award, he is a gifted photographer using his talents for the good of the community of Brighton and Hove.
Maria was Highly Commended for the St Josephine Bakhita Award, and was nominated for raising awareness of Downs syndrome and promoting the inclusion of people with Downs syndrome in the Catholic Church and wider society
Sport and Cultural Society and St Vincent de Paul from South West London received Highly Commended for the Cardinal Hume Award. They reached out to their local community and beyond, running a food bank and supporting people who suffered due to isolation; during the pandemic, they supported on average 112 families per week.
This has been one of the highlights of our year so far and only the beginning of journey working with our inspirational network of award nominees. Keep in touch with Million Minutes to follow the stories of the Celebrating Young People Awards alumni.