On Friday 12th March, Sandwell celebrated its 3rd annual STAR awards, an evening rewarding  young people and adults for their outstanding contribution towards the community.

Held at the Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion Football Club, the evening boasted a showcase of young talent. The awards were organised by Sandwell Shadow Youth Cabinet and the ceremony was hosted by the chair and vice chair of the cabinet – Jessica Masaun and Adam Price. Eastenders heartthrob Neil McDermott, who plays Ryan Malloy in the BBC soap, was the special guest. He was on hand to give out the awards to the talented young people and the supportive adults that help inspire them to achieve.

Neil spoke about the importance of recognising and highlighting the positive images of young people and the good they do in his motivational speech. He was proud to be invited to the awards to help celebrate the achievements of Sandwell’s young people. Neil presented the awards and was photographed with all the winners and runner ups, including spending some time signing autographs and answering questions from young people about his journey into acting.

The evening was a great success, with the star joining local young people, adults and a VIP audience from the council and its partners. Sandwell Teenagers Achieve Recognition (STAR) accolades celebrate the dedication and contribution made to the community and in improving themselves by 13 – 19 and up to 25 year olds with learning difficulties and disabilities. The awards highlight hard work and celebrate the achievements of Sandwell’s young people. Young people also nominate the supportive adults or organisations for STAR awards.

Twenty-one individual and group awards were presented for a wide range of categories including arts and drama, caring and volunteering, bravery and teaching. The runners up all received framed certificates and the winners received a certificate and an engraved STAR Award.

The first award of the night saw Voice 21 pick up the award for team arts. Editor Sheridan Powell said: “Voice 21 is a great youth project that gives young people practical skills in journalism, graphic design and webpage design. It provides many of its young volunteers with an outlet for their talent and to get their work published. It’s a testament to the work of Sultan, Mark and all the volunteers to achieve recognition for a project that has just celebrated its 10th year. It was a truly inspirational evening and the bonus was our very own STAR award.”

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for children and young people Cllr Ian Jones also made a special award to the retiring Youth Cabinet for ensuring young people’s voices are heard in decisions made affecting them. They were also presented with the prestigious Diana Certificate of Excellence for their efforts. Cllr Ian Jones said: “This event showcases the wonderful talent and the dedication we see in our young people in the borough, both as young leaders and as participants. It is a great honour for me to see so many of our young people being recognised and celebrated. I know this will have inspired others to high achievement in the future. It’s been an amazing evening – a credit to all that have been involved.”

Jessica Masaun, retiring chair of Sandwell’s Shadow Youth Cabinet said: “These awards represent the highest accolade that young people in Sandwell can achieve, as they are recognition from their peers for all the hard work they do. Hopefully they go some way in showing the community that not all young people are bad and that some of us do some excellent work in improving our communities. I hope others will take inspiration and continue to share their positive stories about the things they do to improve their community.”

For further information on the STAR awards or the Shadow Youth Cabinet, contact Tariq Karim on 0845 352 7541 or e-mail tariq_karim@sandwell.gov.uk