We were looking for a young person under the age of 18 who has excelled in any of the other categories

JESSICA LAW

Jessica, of Keighley, exemplifies the volunteer ethos.

She is not only working towards a qualification with Barnardo’s at Allerton, but she is volunteering her own time three days a week to help other young people achieve their own qualifications with Barnardo’s at a centre and training service for youths not in education, training or employment.

That is alongside her own personal commitments, as Jessica looks after her grandad.

She also helps out with her family, friends and neighbours, performing a variety of tasks and even rolling up her sleeves to fix cars.

Laura Hairsine, project worker at Barnardo’s, says: “Jessica thinks of others before herself and is always willing to help. She is a friendly face and is always there to listen and support our young people.

“She encourages others to try and have self-belief in their own abilities. Jessica is a positive person and a great role model for young people. She is an optimistic and determined person and a setback only makes her try harder wanting to help others along the way.”

Jessica’s role at Barnardo’s involves providing one-on-one support with a learner, supporting them with literacy or numeracy.

She also has an assistant mechanic role in the workshop. Recently Jessica has helped prepare for a young person bike ride helping to ensure that the group had the right equipment and has helped safety check the bikes before the bike ride ensuring the whole group would be able to go.

JORDAN GREEN

Jordan volunteers at a number of youth projects across Holme Wood including The Edge. As well as giving up many hours a week to help younger people he also helps build websites for voluntary groups across Bradford. All while doing his GCSEs at Tong High School.

Adam Woodhouse of The Edge says: “Jordan is committed, attending all sessions he has volunteered to do on time and is enthusiastic.

“He also looks out to help those who have helped him in the past without complaint. He is genuinely a nice lad who looks out for others before himself.”

Jordan has volunteered to design websites for five local projects. He discovered a skill he wanted to develop and looked for good projects to help at the same time. He has spent many hours putting sites together and arranging meetings to support the projects in web design.

Adam adds: “He is a credit to young people and his family.”

RICHARD HILTON

Richard, of Clayton, is a young person who regularly gives up his time to help others.

He spends his Saturday mornings doing what not many other young people would do – walking around his community in Clayton and collecting litter, which he then safely disposes of.

He takes a one-mile route whatever the weather and does his best to brighten up the neighbourhood and make it cleaner and safer for other residents.

On top of that, he goes out of his way to help the elderly people in the community, and as winter settles in he can often be found clearing snow from their paths and the pavements to ensure they are not trapped in their homes.

The nomination form for Richard reads: “He is very community minded and often will stand out from his peers and speak up his opinions. Richard works on his own initiative and is very committed to all he does.”

In the last 12 months Richard has contacted Bradford Council who supplied him with more equipment in order that he can deal with more types of litter and be a visible active presence in the community. He has placed notices and signs around the village encouraging others to use litter bins.

Click here for a form to cast your vote in the Young Active Citizen category