Entries for Volunteer Ireland Awards close this Friday

Friday October 25 is the closing date for nominations for Panadol’s Volunteer Ireland Awards.

If you have a friend, neighbour or family member who you wish to reward for their hard work and dedication to making the world a better place, you are encouraged to do so before this Friday.

As recognition for a lifetime of service, Volunteer Ireland have added a new incentive in which one nominee will win a €1,000 bursary for their organisation, as part of a ‘Charity Hero Award’.

The awards, which are in their sixth year, have a wide variety of categories supporting a diverse range of interests including sports, arts, youth, environment, community, disability, education, social work, awareness raising and international development. Entrants will be shortlisted during November and category winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in Dublin on December 5, International Volunteer Day.

Panadol are the lead sponsor of the event for the fourth year and this year has seen a phenomenal amount of volunteers doing good work in their community. These volunteers have clocked up over 320,000 hours of voluntary work which has an equivalent value of over €7,000,000.

Longford Volunteer Centre Co-ordinator Terri Doherty said; “We expect the largest number of people ever nominated this year and are already taken aback at the level received.”

“However, I’m certain that there are more inspirational volunteers yet to be nominated. Sometimes it’s easy to forget to say thanks to those who are quietly making a difference in our community. I would urge people to seize this opportunity to give a volunteer you know the special thanks they deserve by nominating an unsung hero before this Friday.”