Award winners revealed as we discover Luton’s Best community heroes

The event was organised by Love Luton and a total of 22 awards were handed out in a variety of a categories that had been previously shortlisted by the judging panel.

And it was a night to remember for Hatters Heritage who, as well as picking up the Leisure, Culture and Heritage award, also won the Luton News-backed People’s Choice category.

For this accolade, the public had the chance to vote for their People’s Choice winner from all the shortlisted candidates, which prompted a remarkable 2,300-plus votes via our Luton Today website.

Hatters Heritage was set up by a group of dedicated and long-time Luton Town Football Club fans to encourage the preservation and appreciation of the heritage and history of Luton Town Football Club.

In 2018, Hatters Heritage was awarded funding to upskill the community and create a bespoke website, to document the club’s history - including match reports, programmes and photographs for every competitive game Luton Town have played, together with player biographies plus audio and video recordings of player and supporter memories.

A dedicated team of Hatters Heritage members have been coming to Wardown House Museum & Gallery to delve into the Luton News collection of negatives to search for, copy and document images relating to the club, its games and players. They have taken more steps to securing a museum at the planned new stadium at Power Court.

See more photos of the award winners in the January 31 edition of the Luton News.

Other Luton’s Best awards went to…

Adult Achiever: Halimah Isbag

Halimah is a Senior Pharmacist at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Halimah actively engages in mentoring students and volunteers her time for the Luton Foodbank on weekends. Halimah stands as an inspirational figure in the field of pharmacy and actively promotes the profession by visiting schools, sharing her experiences, and mentoring a spiring students. Halimah’s commitment to encouraging the next generation of healthcare professionals reflects her passion for creating positive change and contributing to the future of pharmacy.

Young Achiever: Zoubair Aouam

Being in the country for just over a year, Zoubair has excelled in his Maths and English achieving a 7 in English and 5 in Maths GCSE. Studying Level 3 Computing at distinction level, Zoubair intends on going to university to become a Software Engineer.

Zoubair works with several charities and organisations in Luton and talks about wanting to give back to the community by being a voice for the youth. A few examples of Zoubair’s charity work include his efforts in coordinating Inspire FMs fundraiser for Morocco relief after the earthquake. Zoubair has also started working with the newly established Bedfordshire VERU and Bedfordshire police to combat violence and drug use among youth in Bedfordshire.

Child of Courage: Inayah Nawaz

Inayah, 8, has already faced a lot more than most of us would ever have experienced in our lifetime! In 2022, her life changed forever for Inayah, as during a holiday she started to feel ill - finally being diagnosed with Leukaemia. She has spent months in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, where in true Inayah fashion she persuaded her mother to start raising funds, so other children could have the comfort of Olly the Brave (a specially designed bear with tubes like the children have to receive treatment etc.) to help them through their treatment. When she was finally able to return to normal life, Inayah continued to fundraise for children with cancer by doing sponsored public readings at events at Chaul End Nursery and even going to a London cancer charity event during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and the subsequent King’s Coronation celebrations. So far she has raised in excess of £1,500.

Best Volunteer of the Year: Carmel Mooney

For an incredible 15 years, Carmel has been a cornerstone of Azalea, a local charity dedicated to caring for women surviving sex trafficking in Luton and Bedfordshire. Carmel's influence transcends the beneficiaries she serves, as she is one of the main reasons for many others to get involved with Azalea.

Carmel embodies Azalea’s values of Courage, Approachability, Dedication, Empowerment and Trust. Her extraordinary dedication has transformed the lives of countless individuals, making her an exceptional volunteer whose legacy will endure for generations to come.

Care in the Community: Angela Scarlett-Marshall

During 2022, Angela formed a constituted non-profit group with a community service focus and at which point both the Warblers & Wobblers and Community Garden At Grasmere project concepts were born.

Angela started a pilot scheme of Warblers & Wobblers in January 2023; she had circa 30 attendees of individuals living with dementia, autism, emotional or other such ailments; she now has in excess of 55 such individuals regularly attend the monthly sessions. They encourage children and their families to take an interest in nature and the development of the garden and have run initiatives such as a Sunflower Competition and building scarecrows. Angela’s energy and commitment brings so much joy to many in the community.

Best Fundraiser of the Year: Selma Turan and The Turkish Women’s Association

Selma and the Luton Turkish Women’s Association coordinated relief efforts for the Turkey and Syria earthquake which killed over 50,000 people and left millions of people, homeless This year in February, March and April this group of ladies managed to sort out work for a whole 3 to 4 weeks every single day volunteering, sometimes even up to 8 hours a day to sort out items to go to Syria and Turkey.

In total they managed to send 670 tonnes of aid, raising a total of £210,000 for the earthquake relief effort.

Keeping Luton Safe: Luton All Women’s Centre

2023 was a special year for Luton All Women’s Centre as it marked the charity’s 30th anniversary. That’s 30 years of working at the heart of this community, helping some of its most vulnerable women and girls, primarily those whose lives have been seriously derailed due to experiences of violence or abuse against them. Today, through its wide range of specialist 1-1 care and group support services, LAWC is helping over 1,100 women per year to address their underlying trauma and become empowered to make positive changes across their lives.

After successfully securing just over £1m in Safer Streets funding, the Luton All Women’s Centre have reached a total of 17,188 young people from the community. 16,717 of those were engaged in educational establishments and a further 471 young people were engaged in the community across 32 clubs and events.

Environmental Achievement: The Wilder Future Project

The Wilder Futures Project, based at Bradgers Hill, Bushmead is funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund and commenced. The aim was to engage a wider section of the community in natural heritage and to enable more people to enjoy and learn about the wildlife and landscape.

In the last 12 months, the project has achieved the following: engagement with schools, 2 x well-being walks; 1 x walk around Badgers Hill for local ladies only walking group; 1 x walk around Badgers Hill for local LGBTQI group. In addition, The Wildlife Trust is working hard to engage more young people in nature and this project had a specific aim to work with secondary age children.

Luton in Harmony: Good Gym Luton

Good Gym Luton is a group of volunteers from many different backgrounds and ethnicities with a common goal of keeping fit while doing voluntary tasks - helping many diverse communities within Luton.

In 2023, they completed over 220 group tasks for over 32 community groups and events. In addition, individual members regularly visit vulnerable older people in the community. The members of Good Gym give up their time willingly and are committed to helping all groups within Luton, improving the environment, and promoting a sense of community cohesion throughout the town.

Inspirational Female: Ruth Robb

Local Luton businesswoman Ruth co-founded local charity Azalea in 2007 as part of a small team of volunteers working out of a church in High Town to reach out to all trapped in sex trafficking. For the last 15 years, she has led the organisation to grow significantly from nothing to a turnover of over £450,000 last year. Azalea now employs nine full-time equivalent staff and over 80 volunteers. The charity has a 365-degree approach to tackling sex trafficking child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation, and adult, domestic and international sex trafficking. Ruth has been an inspiration to Luton and, in 2018, launched Luton Against Sex Trafficking (LAST), a local project which works at the heart of the Luton community to eradicate on and off-street sex trafficking. Ruth also founded FACES - Faith Against Child Exploitation Sexual, another local group, which includes members from the local Muslim and Christian faiths and provides a vehicle for collaboration of all faith communities to stand against Child Sexual Exploitation.

Lifetime Achievement: Elizabeth Stringer

Liz is described as an extraordinary individual and has dedicated an entire decade to serving as the chair of Luton Foodbank, leading it through challenges, including the tough times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Liz's passion for combating food poverty, her compassion for those in need, and her leadership qualities make her a truly exceptional candidate for recognition. For ten years, Liz has been at the helm of the Luton foodbank, steering it through the difficult times.

Her consistent presence and enduring dedication have not only maintained the foodbank but have also ensured its growth and expansion to meet the ever-increasing demand for its services. She has shown an unparalleled level of commitment, tirelessly working to improve the lives of people in Luton. Liz has become a pillar of support, a beacon of hope, and an advocate for change in Luton. She has forged strong partnerships with local businesses and organisations, creating a network of support that extends beyond the food bank's operations.

Community Project: Noah Outreach Team

The NOAH Outreach Team are 5 workers who are supported by volunteers and other multi agency partners. They achieve remarkable things by acting as the first line of support for people sleeping outside in Luton. Their role is search and rescue. 3 days a week they are up at 5am in the morning exploring various locations such as cemeteries, woods, shops doorways, and scrubland and derelict buildings. They carefully introduce themselves to vulnerable people who are scared and desperate and sleeping in awful conditions. They befriend, offer food and invite people to attend the NOAH welfare centre on Park St.

They leave no stone unturned in their efforts to reach out to people and give them hope and varied opportunities. The impact of the team is in the last 12 months they have secured 168 accommodation outcomes. Overall the team have achieved outcomes with 125 different people from all manner of circumstances.

Community Business Person: Roy Greening

Roy is described as an exceptional leader who does so much for Luton. Roy is always part of everything that is going on, but in a good way, from cycling to France for the Love Luton rides, to taking part in the Run Fest, being an ambassador for the town and working hard with the BID to improve the town centre. Roy makes sure the Mall team support charities of all sizes, was a massive support of the Keech art trail. Community spirit really is at the heart of what the Mall do and that is all led by Roy. Working with schools, the local foodbank, Pride, and being involved with environmental initiatives there is no part of the town Roy does not support. He does it because he cares.

Health Hero: Mark Pedder

Mark is a nurse and a specialist in making end of life care inclusive. Mark began his career at age 16 in a care home for the elderly. He soon realised the importance of compassionate end of life and, three decades on, were lucky to have Mark at Keech. Mark strongly believes that quality end of life care should be accessible for everyone, whatever their situation or background. His recent work entitled What Have I Done To Deserve This saw Mark running free webinars for professional careers and the public to help them understand the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ individuals with a terminal diagnosis. He’s taken part in numerous runs, most recently the London Marathon where he raised thousands of pounds for Keech hospice. After 4 years working in the education team as lecturer practitioner, Mark is now working on a new initiative to help people in the local homeless community access end of life care.

Service with a Smile: Luton Foodbank

Luton Foodbank has been a true lifeline for the community of Luton, continuously adapting to meet the growing needs of families in need. As the demand for food parcels has increased over the years, Luton Foodbank has shown remarkable resilience and dedication. They have tirelessly worked to ensure that no family in Luton goes hungry, going above and beyond to provide essential support. What sets Luton Foodbank apart is their unwavering commitment to the community.

They are constantly evolving and introducing new projects and initiatives to address the changing needs of struggling families. They truly are a lifeline, providing not just food, but also a sense of hope and support. Luton Foodbank's ability to adapt and innovate has been crucial in ensuring that families receive the assistance they need.

Sporting Inspiration: Tysie Gallagher

Tysie is described as inspirational. She is not only Luton’s first female professional boxer, she is also the Commonwealth Champion. Tysie is constantly striving to be the best, balancing her training with her work and her family. In addition to this, Tysie works with Boxing Saves Lives to inspire young people and support them to develop their physical and mental health. Tysie has been a big inspiration for Luton after becoming the only female to reach world level in her boxing career. Tysie is a role model for all younger people especially females wanting to get involved in boxing.

Entrepreneur of the Year: Mariana Brown

Maz set up Browns Books in High Town earlier this year. She identified a gap in the market with Luton not having its own book shop. Maz has attracted a number of authors to Luton to host events and sell their books. Every event is packed out and she is having to ticket events to control entry. To support low income families, Maz also sells a number of second-hand books. She is consistently looking at ways to bring in further income and being innovative to ensure the much-needed book shop in the town. Alongside this, she is exploring new ideas of events and activities she can run as part of Browns Books or through Luton Literature. Maz is an active fundraiser for the town and led the campaign for High Town to have its first-ever Christmas light display. Maz is absolutely an ethical entrepreneur. Everything about the business is about how she can support and give back to the community.

Step Forward Luton: Gav O’Brien

Gav’s unwavering dedication and tireless efforts have significantly contributed to elevating the town's image and fostering a sense of community pride. Gav's initiatives have been instrumental in garnering extensive local and national media coverage for Luton, through the BID and Clearhead. Through innovative campaigns and strategic collaborations, Gav has successfully spotlighted the town's unique cultural heritage, vibrant community spirit, and remarkable achievements, in writing blogs, responding to requests to interview and continuing to want what’s best for the town. Gav’s ability to craft compelling narratives that showcase Luton's positive has resulted in increased visibility and positive portrayals in various media outlets, thereby enhancing the town's reputation on a broader scale. Gav’s work embodies the essence of civic pride and serves as a shining example of the transformative impact of dedicated individuals on the community's growth and reputation

Community Company of the Year: Hannah Solicitors

In three separate free wills campaigns, Hannah Solicitors have raised a staggering £4,637,820 million for charitable causes including British Heart Foundation, Mind, British Red Cross, Children with Cancer and The Salvation Army. In addition, Hannah Solicitors actively fundraise and support local charities, including Luton Foodbank and Keech Hospice Care. Hannah Solicitors are advocates and leaders in the legal field. Spearheading career days, Hannah Solicitors have attended many Secondary Schools and Colleges throughout Bedfordshire; offering career advice, showcasing the different pathways available into the world of law, alongside offering immersion days, internships, apprenticeships, and training contracts.

Luton’s Most Outstanding Citizen: Sujel Miah

Sujel is behind the projects: Luton's Wellness Walks, The Peace Garden Initiative, Dinner with My Daughters, The Luton Lions and The Curry Kitchen at Discover. The first Luton Wellness Walk saw over 70 people from all parts of Luton coming together to enjoy walking 10k through our beautiful Luton countryside. Sujel is described as a kind and humble man, a servant leader, he brings people together and his encouragement makes you believe you can do and achieve anything.

The difference Sujel makes to Luton is immeasurable, mostly because he is so humble and gives his time quietly and generously, his impact nurtures and grows others to be better than they are, his kindness is unending.