2LT Local News

LITHGOW, Central West, NSW, Australia – Young people in the region who are active in the community are to be recognised with the first Lithgow Youth Awards.

The program is being established by the local council with the support of a Youth Opportunities Grant from the New South Wales government.

The awards were initiated through engagement between Youth Council and Lithgow Council’s Community Development team who wanted to highlight the valuable contributions that young people make in the community; as well as to implement recommendations from council’s Youth Strategy.

“The categories are a bit different to your usual awards. We felt it was important to not just recognise the highest achieving person; but those who continually put in the effort to support community activities such as sport referees, the backstage production crew or the volunteers at the fundraising stall,” Youth Councillor and award organiser Elyse Hudson said Friday.

There are four awards categories that a young person 12-25 years old will be able to be nominated or self-nominate for:

– Community Spirit Award

– Contribution to the Creative and Performing Arts

– Contribution to Sports

– Young Employee of the Year

“The launch of the awards is exciting as they will showcase the many outstanding contributions of our young people ranging from community volunteering, sports coaching or perhaps even tech support for one of the areas fabulous productions,” Lithgow City Council Mayor Ray Thompson said Friday.

Nominations are now open for the Lithgow Youth Awards 2019. Nominations close Friday 22 February 2019. Nominations can be made via Council’s website.