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WINNER OF BEACON PRIZE FOR GIVING IS NAMED |
29/01/04 |
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An
unemployed mother-of-three who set up a major community project to help
people back into work has been named as the inaugural winner of the Beacon
Prize.
Paul Boateng, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, paid tribute to Carol Wiggins,
at the inaugural Beacon Prize Giving Ceremony in 11 Downing Street and celebrating
giving in the UK.
The judges, who included Lord Puttnam and Jane Tewson OBE, selected Carol
Wiggins as this year's recipient. Carol, a then unemployed mother-of-three,
founded the Huyton Community Partnership (HCP) in Merseyside in the mid-1990s.
She set out to help give local people the knowledge and confidence to gain
the skills, experience and self-belief to return to work, and to take real
pride in their local community. Carol created a £400,000 community centre,
which is responsible for the largest take up of Learn Direct in the UK.
Boateng said, "The Beacon Fellowship award celebrates the fantastic achievements
of ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The government believes
passionately in a strong and independent voluntary and community sector
and a thriving culture of volunteering and giving.
"At the heart of voluntary activity is the desire to give and create
a better society. I congratulate the Beacon Fellowship on the contribution
they make and the work they do encourage and inspire individuals across
the country to make a real difference to their communities."
Fourteen individuals were honoured in all, ranging from the 15 year old
schoolgirl Sarah Francis, who raised over £12,000 for Afghan Refugees, to
former MP John Profumo, who has been volunteering at charitable foundation
Toynbee Hall for more than 40 years.
All of the category winners, who also included former Republic of Ireland
footballer Niall Quinn, who donated his testimonial match proceeds to charity,
and Jason Maude, who set up the ISABEL Medical Charity, were nominated for
the Beacon Prize 2003.
www.beaconfellowship.org.uk
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