LIGHTS, camera, action! Falklands veteran Simon Weston CBE has donned his dinner jacket and stood before the green screen to film our virtual Pride of Gwent Awards 2020/2021, held in association with the University of South Wales.

With just three and a bit weeks to go, the South Wales Argus team is really looking forward to the online event, which can be watched on our Facebook page from 7pm on Thursday March 11.

Everybody tuning in can expect an uplifting evening, with some great stories to dispel the winter gloom and showcase the very best of human nature and people’s endeavours to help others in Gwent.

Along with Simon, who will be our host for the evening, there will be a number of household names adding their congratulations to the winners and finalists.

But the real stars will be the men, women and children nominated for this year’s awards, which we’ve taken online to keep everybody safe.

All readers of the South Wales Argus are invited to be a part of the event and to add their messages of congratulations on social media channels. Do tell your friends and family about the awards too - it’s definitely a case of ‘the more the merrier’ as far as we’re concerned.

Among the categories that attracted a huge number of entries was the ‘Volunteer Award’, sponsored by United Welsh Housing.

This award goes to a person who has given up their time to help a charity, group, or their community.

The finalists are Lisa Olsen, Adele Hurn and Zuhaib Ullah.

Mum-of-three Lisa has made a big difference to many people and families by providing food stuffs, warm meals and clothing through her work with Feed Newport.

She spends many evenings picking up crates of food from supermarkets, as well as giving up full days to support the work of the organisation.

One of the people nominating her wrote: “We need more people like Lisa in this world, especially at times like this.”

Adele Hurn was nominated by the Abertillery and Blaina Rotary in recognition of her determined and sustained efforts to support charities, particularly ‘Goal for the Gambia’, which supports education and training opportunities for young people in this West African country, All Creatures Great and Small and Velindre Cancer Centre.

Adele has visited the Gambia six times and regularly sends out parcels of useful items and has even equipped classrooms with chairs and desks donated by a school in Abertillery. Meanwhile she uses her knitting skills to raise funds for the good causes she supports.

Zuhaib Ullah devotes several hours a week to fixing bikes for refugees to use to get about.

His voluntary work, which he carries out through the charity The Gap Wales, has provided well over 100 people with transport and a means of exercise, and prevented usable items from ending up in landfill.

Zuhaib has also taken on the running of The Gap’s community allotment, forming a small group who meet on Saturdays.

• Make a date to visit the South Wales Argus Facebook Page [https://www.facebook.com/southwalesargus] from 7pm on Wednesday March 11 to see who is named ‘Volunteer of the Year’ and discover the winners of the 13 other categories and the recipient of the ‘Pride of Gwent’ title.

United Welsh is the proud sponsor of the ‘Volunteer Award’ at the 2020/2021 Pride of Gwent Awards.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, volunteers have worked tirelessly to support people in need, and United Welsh has seen the results of these tremendous efforts first-hand in communities where they provide homes and services.

As a not-for-profit organisation, United Welsh is passionate about building homes, creating communities and transforming lives. While they provide over 6,000 homes for people across 11 local authority areas, United Welsh’s services also help thousands more in communities.

One such service is Connect, a project which supports older people to build relationships and get active to reduce social isolation.

Before March 2020, volunteers who work with United Welsh’s Connect project were volunteering almost 100 hours each week by leading social activities at sheltered accommodation.

Since then, Connect facilitators and volunteers have made over 1,500 wellbeing phone calls to older people living in United Welsh homes; making deliveries and reaching out with friendship to those at risk of feeling lonely.

United Welsh believes that the dedication of volunteers should be recognised. Last year, they launched the ‘I Find You Kind’ campaign; sharing stories and awarding acts of kindness by people in communities to keep others safe and well during the pandemic, as voted for by family members, friends and neighbours.

In the next five years, United Welsh intends to build 1,300 energy efficient homes, and they are committed to working with partners to act on climate change.

From United Welsh, good luck to all the Pride of Gwent finalists!