The St David’s Awards is an annual celebration of the incredible contribution to business, environment, heroism and activism in Wales. This year, Angela Bullard of Splott Community Volunteers was nominated for an award in the Community Spirit category.
Splott was firmly on the map last week when one of the three founders of Splott Community Volunteers was recognised for her outstanding contribution to community spirit at the 2024 St David’s Awards.
The national awards scheme recognises and celebrates the exceptional achievements of people in Wales. Each year there are 10 St David Awards, the first 9 of which are nominated for by the public, and Angela was nominated in the Community Spirit category.
The finalists and winners are decided upon by the First Minister of the Welsh Government and his advisers. Newly appointed First Minister, Vaughan Gething, presented winners with their awards and outgoing First Minister Mark Drakeford presented special awards to Alan Bates and The Windrush Generation Organisation for their inspirational work.
Out of all the people nominated in Wales this year, Angela was recognised for her extraordinary contribution through her volunteering at Splott Community Volunteers, a local charity aiming to alleviate food poverty and provide meaningful volunteering experiences for people in Splott and surrounding areas.
Though Angela was pipped to the post by a lovely lady making a massive difference to young people in Merthyr, her contribution to community spirit was celebrated on the night of the awards and her co-volunteers and colleagues are incredibly proud of her.
Angela said:
I really appreciated being nominated for the St David’s Award – it is always nice to know that your efforts are so appreciated.
I didn’t manage to bring the award back to the team, but I really did appreciate the nomination more than the award, and it did go to a very worthy winner!
Besides, I had a couple of lovely evenings – the first at the Senedd and then at the Royal College of Music and Drama for the actual award ceremony. Both were very happy occasions with delicious food, lovely music and nice people. It was wonderful to hear the stories of each individual who had been shortlisted, and I have to admit that a few tears were shed!
We met lots of wonderful people with incredible stories and formed mutually beneficial links for the future.
The whole event was something to treasure for life – and I most certainly will.
Find out more about Splott Community Volunteers and the work that they do here.
Here is the winner and fellow finalist in the Community Spirit award:
Winner – Helen Hughes
Helen Hughes, with 34 years in the voluntary sector, currently leading @SteveGeorge100 as Chief Executive, organising the UK’s largest Children’s Festival. Her previous work includes creating community libraries and launching mobile units aiding cancer sufferers.
Fellow Finalist Mohammed Alamgir Ahmed
Mohammed Alamgir Ahmed is a community leader within @MuslimWales and has served his community for over 15 years. From playing a pivotal role in the Armed Forces Covenant to youth programmes that help young people with their employability and religious identity.
Congratulations Angela on a fabulous achievement; as your volunteers and colleagues said, you are number one in our eyes!