Carmel Butel, who was named Inspirational Leader of the Year, said the awards helped to highlight the work of individuals and organisations who may otherwise go unnoticed.
Mrs Butel received her award for her work with young people at Youth Arts Jersey and the Jersey Youth Service.
Youth Arts Jersey aims to provide a creative space for young Islanders who want to practise their craft while meeting like-minded individuals who share similar passions.
Mrs Butel said she was shocked when she won but was delighted the work of the Youth Service and Youth Arts project were recognised. She added: ‘The awards night was amazing, I was so surprised I won the award as the other nominees were so inspiring and were involved in some amazing work.
‘The award served as a great promotion for the Arts project and I hope it gave other people’s work the recognition it deserved.’
Since winning the award Mrs Butel said the Youth Service has faced many challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic but has continued its work in providing children with a comfortable, safe and creative space, albeit in an adapted format.
She added: ‘Our home at St James’ Youth Centre closed at the beginning of lockdown but we have offered numerous Zoom sessions for our members which included online band rehearsals, drama and play practice and music lessons.
‘We also continued to support our young people by running our under-18 radio station throughout lockdown which gave them the chance to stay involved by recording shows at home.’
The service reopened its doors three weeks ago and has been running scaled down sessions with ten members at a time rather than 30.
Looking ahead to this year’s Pride awards, Mrs Butel said she has nominated a colleague for Young Ambassador of the Year and encourages anyone thinking of nominating to do so.
‘It’s an opportunity to raise awareness on a particular topic by highlighting the efforts made by individuals or groups of local people who deserve to have their work recognised,’ she said.
To nominate visit prideofjersey.com and fill in the nomination sheet. Entries close on 31 August.
