Edinburgh Local Hero Awards 2022: 3 weeks left to nominate community heroes

There are just three weeks left to nominate your shining lights in Edinburgh for our annual Local Hero Awards, which celebrate all those who go the extra mile in the community.

Nominations for the awards, which are sponsored by @pizza, will close on October 21 with all winners announced at a special ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa on December 7.

Awards are up for grabs across 13 categories, including Community Champion, sponsored by CityFibre, and Health Champion.

The Community Champion award recognises the efforts of individuals who have supported someone or made a significant contribution to their community.

Nominations are open for Edinburgh Local Hero Awards 2022

Last year, the award was won by Margaret Pagliarulo whose innovative cooking project during lockdown helped families remain healthy throughout the pandemic.

She created the Clovenstone Kitchen which provided families with recipes, ingredients and a cook-along video to help families prepare healthy meals for their children. Margaret also runs the community foodbank.

Paul Wakefield, area manager at CityFibre which is sponsoring the Community Champion award, said: “CityFibre is very proud to be supporting the Edinburgh Local Hero Awards for our second year.

“One of our company values is to 'back each other' and so to be supporting the Community Champion this year is particularly important to us. Every community needs champions - someone who steps up and makes a positive difference while inspiring others to do so too.

“We take our role in the city very seriously as we work to connect over 200,000 homes to our full fibre digital network and we admire the community champions who help, and so it's exciting for us to support this great cause this year.'

The Health Champion award will shine a light on someone who has improved a person’s health or made an impact on the quality of life of an individual, whether it be through working with the NHS, providing a service or taking responsibility for a person’s wellbeing.

The efforts of Gary Amos, who set up the Adam Amos Foundation in honour of his son, were highlighted at last year’s ceremony.

Gary’s son lost his life after taking deadly fake Xanax in January 2019. Gary, along with an army of volunteers, is now aiming to help others in Edinburgh recover from addiction.

Other awards up for grabs are: The Edinburgh Local Hero Award, sponsored by @pizza, Volunteer of the Year, Fundraiser of the Year, Neighbour of the Year, Inspirational Young Adult, sponsored by Openreach, Bravery Award, sponsored by Porsche, Sporting Hero, Parent or Guardian of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Music and Arts Award, Carer of the Year and Junior Local Hero Award, sponsored by Edinburgh Zoo.

All those who nominate their heroes will receive a 25 per cent discount from headline sponsor @pizza which can be redeemed at either of their Edinburgh restaurants.

Rupert Lyle, founder of @pizza, said: “Edinburgh is teaming with heroes working tirelessly to make lives within the community better every day. We know it’s the people in Edinburgh who make this city world-class and that’s why we’re delighted to be supporting Edinburgh Evening News in celebrating these heroes again in 2022.”

To nominate, visit www.edinburghlocalheroes.co.uk