The winners of the St Albans Mayor’s Pride Awards 2024 have been revealed with St Albans Community Pantry achieving double success.

The charity, which rehomes surplus food to those in distress, bagged two of the ten accolades presented to honour the contribution of community heroes in the district.

Each year, the Mayor’s Pride Awards highlight individuals and organisations who have made significant contributions to the community at a special ceremony steered by Mayor Anthony Rowlands.

Approximately 100 people were part of the celebration at St Albans City and District Council’s Civic Centre on Tuesday, March 5, and more than 100 more viewed a live webcast of the event.

Participants savoured treats from the Pudding Stop and songs from folk duo Elizabeth and Jameson before the official ceremony was compered by Jonny Seabrook of Mix 92.6.

Councillor Rowlands had made 'All Ages Together' the theme of his service year and personally chose the receivers of two awards.

Mayor Rowlands said: “These awards celebrate people, young and old alike, who make a priceless contribution to our community.

“I thank them as Mayor on behalf of the whole community for making these extraordinary efforts to help others and hope that these awards show how grateful we are for the work that they do.”

The Mayor’s Intergenerational Award joint winners were Skyswood Primary and Nursery School and the Orchard Nursing Home for their contributions to cross-generational connections.

The Mayor’s Special Award went jointly to local religious leaders Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet and Akhtar Zaman for services aiding understanding among the youth.

The public nominated the remaining eight awards categories and a panel of judges chose the winners from a shortlist made from 200 proposals.

Joint Community Champions of the Year were Lynn Dutton and Sharon Linney for their persistent campaigning and charitable work, predominantly for St Albans Action for the Homeless.

Doodlebugs, an after-school club using art and crafts to support youth battling with poor mental health, won the Cultural Innovation Award.

Young Person of Distinction award was bagged by 16-year-old Ben Jones who utilises his experience as a visually impaired wheelchair user to increase awareness about inaccessible services among District and County Councils and businesses.

The Community Project of the Year award went to the St Albans Community Pantry Festive Project, an operation to reduce waste by reorganising food surplus back into the community.

The project fed around 400 people on Christmas Eve and also provided warm clothes.

Mix 92.6, a volunteer-driven community radio station that offers day-round original local programming and podcasts every day, was named Community-Oriented Business of the Year.

The Environmental Champion of the Year went to No Floor No More, a venture that rescues and re-circulates flooring and carpets that would otherwise be discarded.

This provides warmth for homes as carpets are re-utilised.

The Volunteer Award was given to Vic and Vera Foster for their management and operation of a minibus that transports elderly people to and from a lunch club at St Stephen’s Church.

The Inclusive Communities Award went to St Albans Community Pantry for fighting food waste in the community.