A RECORD £13,000 will be given to community organisations supporting young people during a prestigious awards ceremony this month.
The High Sheriff Youth Awards 2018 will be presented at Wynyard Hall Hotel on Thursday, March 15, and will be attended by a host of VIP guests.
This year’s High Sheriff of County Durham, Caroline Peacock will be joined by the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, Sue Snowdon, along with the mayors of Durham, Darlington, Barnard Castle, and Stockton.
The Durham Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Hogg, will also be attending, as will next year’s High Sheriff of Durham, Dr Stephen Cronin.
Awards will be presented in 12 categories under the themes of supporting young people with mental health issues; helping young offenders turn their lives around; and supporting young people to be upstanding citizens or deterring them from criminal activities.
The £13,000 presented to the winning organisations is the most that’s been handed out in the history of the event.
The ceremony is again being staged as a partnership between County Durham Community Foundation and the Sir James Knott Trust. Further support is coming from Durham Constabulary and the office of the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner.
Members of the Durham Mini Police will perform a demonstration for attendees, and the event will be compered by journalist and broadcaster Peter Barron.
The judges this year were: Caroline Peacock, High Sheriff of Durham; Jo Farrell, Deputy Chief Constable of Durham; Alan Reiss, Chief of Staff to the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner; Vivien Stapley, of the Sir James Knott Trust; Peter Cook, trustee of County Durham Community Foundation; Sally Vivyan, Donor Services Manager for the High Sheriff Fund; Lesley Taylor, of Taylor Packaging; and Durham Police Cadet Ellie Ramsey.
High Sheriff Caroline Peacock said: “I am delighted to be able to give some support to groups which feature the good things being done by, and for, young people throughout County Durham.”