There are young people doing wonderful work in our community who deserve recognition for their endeavours that that too often go unrecognised.
To this end, the Rotary Clubs in Godalming, in conjunction with Barbara Keene in memory of her late husband Malcolm Keene, established the Rotary in Godalming Young Citizen’s Award for young people aged between 10-18.
Malcolm Keene was a Rotarian for many years who worked tirelessly inspiring young people in Godalming. The aim of the award is to reward those young people who have made outstanding contributions to our local community as a carer, fundraising for good causes or perhaps involvement with voluntary organisations.
The inaugural Rotary in Godalming Young Citizen’s Award attracted 7 individual nominations plus one group nomination from Broadwater School.
After much consultation, the award committee decided that the overall winner was Lily-Brenda Lawrence, a 16 year-old who was nominated by Rachel Jones, Home School Link Worker. Lily-Brenda received a certificate, a commemorative engraved plaque and £200 as her award.
On receiving her award Lily-Brenda said “I am very pleased to be recognised for this award”.
Lily has been a member of Godalming Swimming Club since she was 7 years old. Despite a diagnosis of Scoliosis and Spondylolisthesis of the lumbur spine she swam for the Club and volunteered. When she fractured a vertebra she needed spinal surgery and couldn’t swim for several months, but once mobile she returned and coached younger swimmers from a chair by the pool until she was able to return to swimming. stopped her swimming.
Lily is also a Youth Ambassador for the SW Domestic Abuse Charity where she helps to explore ways young people can be supported including appearing in a video about the impact of domestic abuse on young people which is being used as a training package for schools and professional bodies.
In addition to the above, Lily has also been a Young Leader at Farncombe Brownies and a popular visitor at her grandmother’s sheltered housing where she supports their social events.
Other individual nominations included helping out at Brownies, Guide and Scout groups, organising fund-raising events for The Green Hub Project for Teens, coaching all-girls teams at Farncombe Cricket Club and volunteering at The Cellar Camino Cafe in Godalming. A group nomination was also received from Broadwater School in relation to Wellbeing and Anti-Bullying.
Our congratulations go to all other nominees who received a certificate in recognition of their exceptional services to our community.
Look out for the application forms for next year’s award in early 2024.