Volunteer Ireland Awards
The Volunteer Ireland Awards are the major annual initiative to celebrate volunteers in Ireland. The awards shine a light on the remarkable achievements of volunteers around the country by honoring them at a national level. Volunteer Ireland is proud to have President Michael D. Higgins as Patron of the Awards.
Nominations & Judging
The awards begin with a public call for nominations. Nominations for the 2020 awards are now open and will close on the 1st of October. Anyone can nominate a volunteer, someone they know who gives their time and energy voluntarily and without pay.
Individual volunteers or volunteer duos can be nominated in 1 of 9 categories. These categories reflect different facets of volunteering, such as social inclusion, sport, safety, youth work etc. This year they have also included a category for COVID-19, to recognise the incredible contribution of volunteers in responding to local needs during COVID-19.
Groups of volunteers can also be nominated, there is a small group category (3-20 volunteers) and a large group category (20+ volunteers)
The final category recognises volunteer managers, those who lead volunteers and manage volunteer programmes. This category is different as volunteer managers can be in either a paid or unpaid position.
All nominations are adjudicated by a shortlisting team and a panel of judges. Three awardees are selected in each category and one truly exceptional volunteer is named Christine Buckley Volunteer of the Year.
Recognising Every Nomination
Every volunteer that is nominated will receive a thank you card from Volunteer Ireland. Volunteer Ireland want to let everyone who is nominated know that their contributions are greatly valued and that someone took the time to put them forward for an award.
Celebrating Our Awardees
Awardees’ volunteer stories will be shared across Volunteer Ireland’s social media channels and with local and national press. By sharing these incredible volunteers’ stories we are honouring their contribution to Irish society and also inspiring others to get involved.
This year as they will not be able to have an in person awards event, each awardee will be celebrated at their home or in their place of volunteering, they will receive a special celebration delivery from Volunteer Ireland, and be cheered on by their family and friends. We hope to then share these moments of celebration virtually.
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