Winner - Pontefract Reads
Pontefract Reads is a volunteer-led group which spends hundreds of hours every year sharing free books with families in Pontefract. Co-leads, Chris Bingham and Anna Blight run four busy free bookcases in Pontefract and Knottingley.
The first little free library, Banks Avenue Little Free Library, was set up four years ago in the summer of 2020 lockdown. It started with a few boxes of books on Anna's garden wall as a response to libraries and book shops being closed and has grown to what it is today.
They said: "One of the best conversations we have with adults, is that they've been inspired to choose a few books from a bookcase or at a pop-up, as they're free and there's no pressure to finish and return them, so they've read their first book since leaving school.”
They have also saved hundreds of old reading scheme books from being thrown into skips and have shared these with local families.
2nd - Normanton Youth Dance
Normanton Youth Dance (NYD) is a dance class offered to the community of Normanton for free every Friday as part of The Well Project’s youth club. The group teaches young people fundamental skills of dance in street, cheer and contemporary.
They also run dance leaders qualifications which are fully funded enabling young people aged 12 and older to gain a fully recognised dance teacher qualification. The young people have an amazing opportunity to gain experience, qualifications and transferable skills during these sessions helping them to build their CV's in a field they love.
The dancers taking part in dance leader qualifications are creating an event as part of their course. They have chosen Normanton Gala and will be creating a performance schedule, routines and teaching schedule. NYD is a safe space for young people to make friends whilst learning new skills in a subject they enjoy.
3rd - Lynsey Tomlinson
Lynsey was nominated for her fantastic mural on the wall facing the Stanley Orchard. Lynsey spotted the wall when Stanley Residents Group were developing the community orchard and asked if she could create a mural to bring some colour to the area.
Stanley Residents Group welcomed the offer and chose a design that combined what the area once was (a railway) and what its future is (the orchard). The work took many months which included her preparing the wall in a prima coat water barrier, using acrylic paint that won’t fade and sealing with a varnish.
The mural took around nine months to complete mainly due to a spell of bad weather. The Stanley Community Orchard is starting to have massive benefits to the community in terms of environmental benefits and the mural is certainly a great centre piece to help promote and welcome residents to the area.