The Young Active Citizens award finalists aged 17 to 25

The three finalists in the category are Hareem Hussain, Damian Tatar and Adam Wray.

Adam Wray

Adam is a student at Shipley College and was nominated by a tutor who said: “Adam is a very helpful and caring young man. He has been a pleasure to teach and work with and is always willing to try new skills and help others in the class who may be struggling. He encourages others who are not as confident as him and helps them to build their confidence and self esteem. He volunteers all over the college and people absolutely love him.

“This young person goes over and above to help anyone. He has volunteered at a Warm Space group at St Peters Church Saltaire for over a year. Going every Friday to volunteer to service a warm space for people in the community who have very little food, heating or company. 

“He is liked by everyone who visits the warm space and the staff think he is amazing.”

Adam, who lives in Wilsden, also volunteers to litter pick around the village and helps elderly residents with their gardens.

Damian Tatar

The person nominating Damian said he had a passion for helping to make the community a better place. 

“He has outstanding leadership skills to encourage his peers to get involved with things out of their comfort zone that they wouldn’t usually do,” she said.

“He has a good understanding of his community and their needs and has worked towards community cohesion in his area.”

She added: “This young person helped to organise a group of young people from his area, to work on a project to do a mural in his community centre, a podcast, and also helped apply for funding to enable this to happen. The issues he wanted to address were making his community safer, cleaner and a better place to be for future generations.”

The most recent project that Damian worked on was a mural on his community centre wall. 

“He encouraged his peers to get involved and leave a legacy in the community centre,” his nominator said. 

“The group that designed and came up with the idea for the mural are from the Roma community, and often face racism within their area. By having this mural on the wall that they made, helps them to know that the community centre is somewhere that they belong and are welcomed.

“It is also great for the rest of the community to see young people be a part of something positive.”

Hareem Hussain

The person who nominated Hareem said: “The nominated individual stands out for her unwavering commitment to uplifting our community. They inspire and lead by example, fostering a culture of encouragement and selflessness. 

“Her relentless energy and dedication in serving the Bradford district demonstrates a deep passion for creating positive change, making her exceptionally worthy of recognition.”

She said: “She volunteered for an epilepsy charity run and has participated in other charity events. 

“She is absolutely relentless in helping others.”

QR code to vote for Bradford's Community Stars Awards finalists for 2023 (Image: Newsquest)

Finalists for Bradford's Community Star Awards

For 2023's awards, there are 10 categories in total.

Click the category to find out more about each finalist

• The Good Neighbour of the Year, sponsored by Incommunities
• The Outstanding Contribution to Earliest Years of Life Award, sponsored by Better Start Bradford
• Shared Values in Action Award, sponsored by Bradford For Everyone
• Voluntary and Community Group (Larger Charities / Social Enterprises)
• Voluntary and Community Group (Small organisation – less than two full time or equivalent staff)
• Volunteer of the Year
• Young Active Citizens (age 8-16)
• Young Active Citizens (age 17-25)
• Business Making a Difference, sponsored by Participate Projects
• Fundraiser of the Year

How to vote

To vote for your local hero, please visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CL68FHT or scan the QR code.

Voting will end at midnight on Tuesday, November 21.

Speaking on the selfless work highlighted in the awards, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “We are fortunate that across the Bradford district we have many kind, compassionate and generous people who make a selfless contribution to their communities and have a huge, positive impact on our district. 

“There are some absolute stars in our community and it is great that these awards shine a light on these brilliant people and give them the thanks and recognition that they deserve.”