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Amy is the 20 year old daughter of Keith and Liz Healey. She was born and brought up in Barrow. Having left school, Amy completed a Nursery Nurse apprenticeship before embarking on an NHS Cadetship. Whilst doing this she was also employed as a Home Carer, visiting the old and infirm to help with their personal care needs. Amy went on to join the NHS Nursing bank at Furness General hospital as an auxillary nurse and has recently commenced her NHS Nursing Degree at Edgehill University.

In October 2012, Keith was unexpectedly struck down by Guillane Barré syndrome. At that time, he was a serving police officer with 29 years service in Cumbria Constabulary. For a short time, Keith was critically ill and he was hospitalised for two months. The illness attacked his central nervous system and he lost the ability to use his arms, legs, hands or feet.

The impact on the family was significant as Keith required twenty four hour support whilst Liz had responsibilities to her own job and had to run their house from day to day.

From the outset, Amy was a constant support for Keith and Liz, during the initial critical period whilst Keith was in hospital and thereafter whilst at home, assuming the role of Keith’s personal carer.

Without hesitation, Amy took responsibility for her father’s hygiene and medical needs, helping with his physiotherapy whilst throughout, providing him with invaluable company.

Two years on, Keith has retired from the police and although he is less reliant on others, his recovery is slow and his mobility is still very much impaired. Amy’s support for her parents throughout this extremely difficult period in their lives has not wavered.

Amy has had the ambition to pursue a career in nursing for a long time. She exudes a warmth of character, kindness and instinctive sense of care towards others which is invaluable as a nurse. She has made concious decisions to follow the appropriate career path, learning and building upon her experiences.

When faced with her father’s illness, Amy ‘stepped up to the mark’, but without doubt, went way beyond what would be expected of a nurse or a daughter.

Amy sacrificed her time unstintintingly and has done all this whilst retaining a wonderful sense of humour and determination to ensure her father’s needs have been met.

Congratulations Amy on your nomination and…

BREAKING NEWS – congratulations on making it to the final three in this category, see you on the red carpet at the Forum in March!

We are lucky in the borough to have some wonderful areas of natural beauty-  North Walney Nature Reserve is a prime example and we have recieved a nomination for the reserve’s warden, STEVE BENN, in the Environmental Award category of the 2015 Love Barrow Awards.

Steve is the official warden for North Walney nature reserve and is employed by Natural England. North Walney is one of the best coastal nature reserves in the country, retaining a real wilderness feel in a largely industrial local landscape.

The reserve’s most famous resident is the noisy natterjack toad. One of the UK’s rarest amphibians, it is only found at around 40 sites in England.

Steve’s passion for his work is so obvious. He has been the warden of the site for many many years. Although he is employed, Steve goes far beyond his duties as a warden. He is friendly and very approachable with an unbelievable knowledge of what he does. He is involved with everything that happens in the reserve. This is from protecting, enhancing and encouraging its use.

He regularly works over, finishing the job. He gives tours of the reserve and works closely with local schools, educating the young about the importance of the reserve, and nature in general. Steve also arranges community beach cleans and reserve cleans.

The benefits Steve dedication gives is wide ranging. This is from national (protection of rare species), local and to the local community and young people. Other benefits are to the local economy as he works closely with Barrow Borough Council advising them on various committees linked to nature and heritage.

A GREAT ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD NOMINATION – WELL DONE STEVE

We’ve received our first nomination in the 2015 Love Barrow Awards Young Citizen of the Year category – Owen Entwistle.

Owen has been helping as a volunteer at the Spring Mount youth clubs and has also has started to help out putting the groundwork in with a clothes bank to be operated under the banner of Walney community trust.

He was so keen to get involved that he stirred his citizenship group into action too and they have sorted clothes, painted walls and are keen to continue volunteering to man the clothes bank once it’s operational.

He volunteered to work on a catering team at a Summer festival and is part of a foster family where he helps out with the many children that become part of the family temporarily.

The nomination form paints a glowing picture of this young man, committed to helping others –

“He is a hard working committed young man who thinks of others needs before his own. He sees things that need to be done and offers to get them done. He has type 2 diabetes but doesn’t let that get on theway of getting involved and is a great role model.”

Owen has been involved with many activities including Walney community trust, Clothes bank, Spring Mount Youth & Soul Survivor.

Owen is always willing and  ready to help outon days he isn’t at college and regularly helps out with our younger youths at Spring Mount.

A great nomination, I’m sure you’ll agree, well done Owen.

Do you know a young person worthy of recognition with a nomination for the Young Citizen of the Year Award? Nominating is really easy and can all be done from this website, just follow the NOMINATIONS link at the top of this page to get all the details.

Sharon is the latest nominee in the Carer of the Year category for the 2015 Love Barrow Awards.

Sharon has been a carer for many years with Cumbria Care and always goes that extra mile to ensure that the care of her service users is excellent. She also plans day trips out for them so they can enjoy themselves. When Sharon is at work she always has a smile on her face and makes the service users happy.

The nomination form states that Sharon “is a very caring individual and always puts others first”

Sharon lives in Barrow and works at Marsh House in Ulverston.

Well done Sharon on your nomination – do you know a carer who goes above and beyond in their duties? Nominations are open until the 9th November and can be made online by clicking on the “Nominations” link at the top of this page.

DO YOU KNOW A YOUNG PERSON WORTHY OF RECOGNITION IN THE 2015 LOVE BARROW AWARDS?

There are loads of young people in the Barrow area doing great things, helping others, volunteering, charity work, who deserve a nomination for the Love Barrow Awards.

Last year’s winner, Jacob McSweeney was rewarded for his fundraising for Cancer Research UK following his Mum’s diagnosis with breast cancer. Jacob managed to turn a gloomy personal situation around and help others by raising funds for the charity. One year on and things are brighter for Jacob, his Mum Lisa, has completed her chemotherapy, radiotherapy and two lots of surgery and has recently had her first clear mammogram since the disease struck. Jacob has taken his radio hobby to another level and now broadcasts a weekly show on CandoFM, Furness College’s own radio station which will soon be available on an FM frequency to the whole of Barrow.

Jacob’s nomination video, filmed by Love Barrow Award sponsors Workshop Media is below, there are links on the YouTube page to the other young people nominated for the Young Citizen category last year to give you an idea of the kind of people who have been nominated in past years.

Have a think, do you know a young person who deserves a nomination for this year’s award? It’s a great way of saying “Thank You” and recognising them for their efforts. Just follow the “Nominations” link at the top of this page and submit your entry.

 

This inclusive group was started a number of years ago for all young people, regardless of their abilities and financial background. Their aim is to be a community group who provide entertainment to the Barrow and surrounding areas.

The group focus on  keeping their costs low so it is accessible to everyone who wants to become a member.

Being involved in the A590 Theatre Group teaches members skills that be transferred into adult life, such as commitment, teamwork, supporting others, working alongside different people and a sense of achievement which helps towards building their self confidence.

Members get involved in every aspect of performing in a show including fundraising, building scenery and making costumes. The group is run by a committee who are all volunteers, including 3 senior members and 2 junior members who are involved in the decision making of our group and to represent their age group.

The groups charity work is another string to their bow – among other fundraising efforts they have raised money for Help the Heroes and the multi cultural society in Barrow. The group also visit the many care homes around Barrow to entertain their residents who are unable to travel to see the shows they perform at theatres.

A fantastic group doing great work for the community in Barrow – well done on your nomination.

“That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there…”

And so the running theme for the 2015 Love Barrow Awards seems to continue. We’ve already had John and Clare Greenwood nominated in the Sports Volunteer category, along with the Walney Wind Cheetahs for Group or Project of the Year and here’s another one – The Parkside Panthers.

The group is a real success story and continues to grow – helping and encouraging local people to get active and get fit. The group is run by a dedicateed team of volunteers, helping local people, some of whom have never done so much as run for a bus to take up the hobby of running.

Everyone is welcome and helped on an individual basis if that’s what they need . There are beginners programs, intermediate and advanced groups and nobosy is ever left behind – the inclusive and social nature of the group is what makes it appealing to so many people.

“They have totally changed my life around as they have with many others . Groups like this are getting the local people fitter and healthier and it’s all free and done purely on a voluntary basis”

The group now numbers over 100 members and can regularly be seen pounding the streets of Barrow with volunteer run leaders supporting and encouraging eveyone along the route.

Well done to the Parkside Panthers on their nomination.

DO YOU KNOW OF A SPORTS GROUP, (IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A RUNNING GROUP!) OR ORGANISTAION THAT DESERVES A NOMINATION FOR A LOVE BARROW AWARD?

THE NOMINATION PROCESS IS REALLY SIMPLE AND CAN BE COMPLETED ONLINE FROM THE LINKS AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.

Can you help us spread the Love?

We’re reaching out to the local community to spread the Love about the Love Barrow Awards and have designed a series of posters to raise awareness of the nomination process.

All of the posters are available from this website (click here to open poster page in a new window)

Can you help? Do you have a notice board in your workplace, office or school where you could display a poster and help us collect a bumper inbox of nominations – be sure to ask permission first before placing posters!

The nominations are coming in thick and fast, but we really want to reach out and spread the word wider than ever this year.

Thank you if you can help.

Cheers

Darren & the LBA team