There’s still time to nominate for an awards ceremony recognising that community spirit is alive and thriving in the St Albans district.

The Herts Advertiser Community Awards reward those people who are making a significant contribution to their community, whether as a volunteer, fundraiser or unsung local hero.

The headline sponsor for this year’s awards is once again The Maltings Shopping Centre.

Centre manager Phil Corrigan said: “The Maltings is proud to be sponsoring the Herts Advertiser Community Awards and The Maltings Community Hero Category for the second year running.

“Community Heroes are all around us and the exceptional contributions they make to improve life in St Albans are all too often overlooked. They are the unseen fabric binding our community together. Here at the Maltings we believe their contribution deserves recognition, and that their dedication should be celebrated.

“As such, we are delighted to be a part of the Herts Advertiser Community Awards once again, and we hope that their stories will inspire others.”

Mark Peddle, director of sponsors KDW, said: ‘We are proud to sponsor the Herts Advertiser Community Awards. At KDW we believe that it is important to support our local community and reward some of the fantastic work that local people, schools, businesses and charities do. We are excited to be part of the awards and are looking forward to this year’s event.”

Herts Ad editor Matt Adams added: “Last year’s awards were a phenomenal success, and people were still talking to me about them months later, so we’re delighted to be continuing this year with another celebration of the district’s community champions and outstanding citizens.”

Last year’s awards were hosted by Sky Sports Formula 1 presenter David Croft at The Maltings Arts Theatre, and drew on representatives from all walks of life, coming together to highlight some remarkable achievements.

This week we’re focusing on nominations for three categories: Nurse/Care Worker of the Year, Carer of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Nurse/Care Worker of the Year award is open to any nurse or carer worker who has shown they go beyond the call of duty. When making a nomination please consider the following criteria: how have they gone that extra mile, how have they improved treatment or care, and how has their work affected others around them?

For the Carer of the Year we are looking someone who has given up their time to look after someone else, improved their quality of life, made sacrifices to provide this level of care and given assistance to other projects or causes.

The winner of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement award was Sister Sheila O’Riley who has been volunteering at the Open Door Homeless Service in Bricket Road St Albans for more than 20 years. She first started volunteering to help the homeless after retiring as a primary school teacher and was one of the volunteers that operated a night shelter out of a small flat in Victoria Street prior to the opening of the Open Door charity in 1992. She can be found most Sundays and occasional Tuesdays at the centre as part of her role is to organise the rota for a group of volunteers who cook and serve the evening meal to people staying overnight.

Deadline for entries is Thursday July 21 and to enter simply click here.

The Awards ceremony this year will take place Tuesday September 6 at the Malting Arts Theatre.