Camborne Community Awards 2025: Full List of Winners Announced

Camborne Town Council has honoured the people behind the town’s most inspiring work at this year’s Camborne Community Awards, held at Camborne Rugby Club on Thursday 24th July 2025. The evening celebrated everyone from young achievers to tireless volunteers, with handmade trophies created by Create CIC and presented by the council’s Events and Engagement Team.

Events Manager Alicia Jouvenaar said, ‘Working for Camborne is something I’m really proud of, and this event is my favourite out of our events programme. The people of Camborne are truly brilliant, and should be celebrated at every opportunity’.

Here’s a full breakdown of the winners and what earned them their recognition.

Group of the Year

🥇 Camborne Community Larder
Praised for their essential support to local families and efforts to cut food waste.
‘They provide a great service for local people which has helped my family’

🥈 Camborne Clothes Bank
Helping families access free clothes while tackling landfill waste.
‘Hard work and efforts to support people in the community to access free clothing and other items for their children, and also reducing waste by refusing items that would otherwise go to landfill’

🥉 Spinney Committee
Revived a neglected green space with successful ‘Community Levelling Up’ funding, benefiting the town centre.
‘The Spinney Committee really stepped up to draw down ‘Community Levelling up’ funding and have made a real difference to Camborne Town centre opening up a neglected green space to wider community use and participation. The grant reporting was known to be onerous and the Spinney is the only completely voluntary group in Camborne to have made a successful application. This has benefitted Camborne and deserves to be recognised’

Volunteer of the Year

Sponsored by Redruth Rotary Club

🥇 Hayley Gilbert
Recognised for her unwavering dedication to supporting those in need.
‘The time and effort that they dedicate to helping those that are in need definitely needs recognition and celebration!’

🥈 Karen Brookes
Volunteers in three church roles, chairs the board of governors at Weeth School and serves as Entertainment Officer for Trevithick Day.
‘Karen volunteers in three different roles for the church, is Chair of Governors at Weeth School and is Entertainment Officer on the Camborne Trevithick Day Committee’

🥉 Sara Hall and Lissa Trewin
Created the “Get Ready With Me” programme to support cadets and their families in 147 Squadron.
‘I appreciate its unusual to have a duel nomination however they have worked closely together and made a huge difference. Last year, Sgt Hall and CI Trewin started the “Get Ready With Me” program to help some of the Sqns struggling cadets and families be better prepared for the evening’

Outstanding Contribution to Sports

📷Steve Simmons

🥇 Steve Simmons
Known affectionately as “Simmo”, he volunteers 15–30 hours a week at Troon AFC on top of a full-time job, maintaining pitches, coaching and running community events.
‘Steve “Simmo” as we all know him is our one and only volunteer groundsman here at Troon AFC and works tirelessly to ensure our 4 pitches and grounds are looking fantastic all season long. He is at the club for 15/30 hours a week as well as working his fulltime job. He also arranges community event for the club, like the CPR FoodBank collection and our annual summer tournament as well as coaching our Sharks U13’s team. He is the heartbeat of the club, with his friendly welcoming personality and he always has time for a chat or to give advice to our younger members. We are very grateful to have “Simmo” at our club’

🥈 Veor RFC
Despite having no permanent ground, the club has continued fixtures, charity events and toy drives, showing resilience and community spirit.
‘Veor Rfc have had 18 months without a permanent ground of their own but have kept on battling away playing fixtures away to keep lads playing, To keep the club which has huge history going. And with all this going on they’ve still in the last 12 months ran community fun days for charity, Collected for the CPR foodbank and also donated over 800 toys with through there Christmas toy appeal. It shows those within the club membership group have still in tough times put others first’

🥉 Matt Tagg and Will Garwood
Key to revitalising Camborne Rugby Football Club’s youth section, creating sporting opportunities and life skills for young players.
‘This pair of driven individuals having taken on their roles 12 months ago have been instrumental in ensuring this most important area of Camborne Rugby Football Club is thriving & growing thereby creating wonderful opportunities for young people to take part in sport and learn important life skills’

Environmental Hero

🥇 Carol Kitto
Long-time volunteer who quietly tackles fly-tipping, litter and supports the Camborne Regeneration Forum.
‘Carol picks litter and reports fly-tipping and participates with Camborne Regeneration forum and is a community safety champion. She is one of those who works quietly in the background without fanfare and has been active for many many years. She doesn’t ask for recognition or reward but is a stalwart’

🥈 Red River Rescuers
Dedicated to improving biodiversity and maintaining the Red River for community use.
‘This group goes above and beyond to increase biodiversity at the Red River and work hard to make sure it’s a beautiful place for people to enjoy’

🥉 Camborne Community Larder
Recognised for their role in reducing food waste.
‘They’re saving tons of food waste!’

Good Neighbour

📷Good Neighbour

Sponsored by Neighbourhood Watch

🥇 Marie Splatt
Described as “an angel in disguise”, always offering food, care and kindness to anyone who needs it, especially children.
‘Marie is an angel in disguise to so many people in Camborne, quietly and without fanfare. She ensures that everyone who she comes into contact with is treated with kindness, dignity and love. If you’re hungry she will find some food for you, she welcomes children (and feeds them sugary snacks lol), she is the ultimate humble servant’

🥈 Chelsea Ellis
Creates and gives out hundreds of gift parcels during holidays at her own expense, with over 200 people attending her events. She’s been nominated for a Pride of Britain Award.
‘Chelsea goes above and beyond for Carol in town. She does big Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day items. She makes up large individual parcels for people and then just hands them out in the town for completely free. She has done this for a few years now and it is absolutely wonderful. She has at least 200 people attend. She has been nominated for a pride of Britain awards. people in the town adore Chelsea and her hard work, she pays for it all out her own pocket’

Best Community Project

Sponsored by Cornish Metals

🥇 Camborne Clothes Bank
Run by Hayley and her team, the project helps ease the financial burden on families and reduces isolation through community connection.
‘It gives the local community support in the form of removing the financial burden of clothing children in a time where child poverty is at an all time high. Hayley and the team have worked really hard over the years to build up this project, this has put parents in contact with each other helping to reduce feelings of loneliness and strengthen the community’

🥈 Spinney Committee
Led by Ann James, they transformed a neglected site into a thriving green space with grants, surveys, events and local engagement.
‘Absolutely phenomenal amount of work gone into reviving this neglected town centre green space. Ann James, particularly has renewed policies liaised with agencies and organisations, organised volunteers, organised bird and bug surveys, surveyed needs, applied for and overseen grant, accounted for grant. Researched and collated information, organised events, run stalls and published a commemorative booklet’

🥉 147 Squadron
Supports young people in gaining nationally recognised qualifications and building skills through cadet training.
‘Since its inception, hundreds of Cornwall youth have gained nationally recognised qualifications. Depending on the qualification, cadets can then return as instructors, creating sustainable knowledge sharing cycles’

Outstanding Contribution to the Arts

🥇 Zena Clements-Tresidder
Honoured for her commitment to empowering young performers through inclusive and confidence-building shows. She also received the Mayor’s Award.
‘Zena is a talented young woman who devotes her time and energy to hundreds of young people. Her courage, kindness and compassion have helped enhance and develop the confidence of many people young and old. The shows that she puts together and the talents she enables is awesome. She deserves the recognition of town for everything she does’

🥈 Holman’s Climax Male Voice Choir
Led by Andrew Thomas, the choir has thrived post-COVID, blending Cornish tradition with new music and maintaining strong community engagement.
‘Andrew Thomas has been at the heart of the Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir as Musical Director for over a decade, and a dedicated singer before that. His leadership has taken the choir from strength to strength in recent years, blending traditional Cornish repertoire with fresh, exciting music that keeps the art form alive and evolving. Post-COVID, Andrew played a key role in bringing the choir back together with energy and purpose, rebuilding momentum and morale at a time when many groups struggled. Thanks to his dedication, over 40 men continue to sing as one, performing at concerts in varied venues (from chapels to Bands in the Sands!) across Cornwall and bringing joy to audiences. His passion, creativity, and commitment to community music make him a standout figure in the local male voice choir scene – and a worthy nominee for this award’

Fundraising Hero

🥇 Riley Lake
After being diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at age 6, Riley raised over £5,000 for Duchenne UK this year through his Rugby4Riley event.
‘Young riley lake was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy aged 6 a life limiting and changing condition recently this year his event Rugby4riley raised over £5000 for Duchenne UK’

🥈 Camborne RBL
Raised over £18,000 through poppy sales and collection efforts to support veterans and their families.
‘The Camborne Branch of the RBL raised over £18,000 through poppy stalls, collection buckets and tins. Their work to fundraise is vital in supporting veterans and their families’

Sid Godolphin Award

📷Sid Godolphiin Award

🏆 Aimee Patrick
An active member of Camborne Youth Council, Aimee also runs the ‘rewilding society’, manages her own sustainability website and volunteers regularly.
‘Aimee has been on the Camborne Youth Council since it started. She is dedicated, hard working, and an exceptional representative for Camborne. In her spare time, Aimee runs the ‘rewilding society’, a project dedicated to rewilding and sustainability, and runs a website, social media, and stalls at events. She is proactive and works hard in everything she does. She is kind and thoughtful, and deserves recognition for her dedication to Camborne’

Young Achiever

Sponsored by Camborne Redruth Lions

🏆 Bryher Brookes
A rising talent in local performance, Bryher is part of CD Kids, sings in her school choir, and won multiple categories at the Camborne Music Festival.
‘Bryher is a talented young performer who works incredibly hard to improve. Bryher is a dedicated member of local drama group, CD Kids, is a member of her school choir and has singing and piano lessons locally. Bryher achieved first place in the Solo Singing section and Duet Class at Camborne Music Festival‘