Leeds City Council and Voluntary Action-Leeds introduced the volunteering awards scheme as part of the 2010 Leeds Year of Volunteering, to recognise and celebrate the massive contribution that volunteers make to the city.

The event at Leeds Civic Hall, brought together winning individuals and groups, who were all nominated for giving their time and energy for free to help charitable organisations, improve the lives of vulnerable people and put something back into the community.

Armley Helping Hands | Group of the Year Award

Armley Helping Hands provides facilities for the advancement of education, recreation and leisure time activities for older people living in the Armley and Wortley district of Leeds. The aim of the organisation is to develop social welfare and improve the lives of older people, reducing social isolation and promoting independent living.

A vital part of the charity's development and ability to provide high level of support and care to our older people over the last fifteen years, is the outstanding commitment from their 21 volunteers, many of whom have served over 10 years voluntary service within the organisation.

Kwasi Adoo | Commitment Award

Kwasi was nominated for his commitment to volunteering with children and young people. He volunteers at the Mandela Centre, Chapeltown Road where he runs a basketball club on Saturday mornings. He has also worked with young offenders where he has been a positive role model in particular for young black males in the community.

Mr Adoo has run the "Hoops" club for several years. He has given up his own time to help youngsters while holding paid work as a personal trainer, to support his own children.

Margaret Clayton | Inspiration Award

Margret has volunteered for Girl Guiding in Leeds for over 31 years and will retire in accordance with regulations in August 2011, when she reaches 65. During this time she has supported hundreds of girls through Grownies and Guides.

The nomination writer said the following:
"She is a very special, kind, giving inspirational person and we love her dearly, and would like to see her receive the recognition she deserves for all her many years of extraordinary service.

Thomas Mower | Newcomer Award

Thomas started volunteering at Groundwork in August 2010 to support his studies in environmental science and gain work experience. In less than a month he has shown levels of commitment and enthusiasm rarely witnessed and has thrown himself into a whole variety of tasks and projects.

Max Roclawski | Across Generations Award

Max has been described as "very humble about his contributions". Since his retirement in 2001 from the police force, he has shared his experience in woodworking and technical skills for the benefit of other volunteers and staff at Hollybush Conservation Centre.

A particular strength is his vast knowledge of health and safety and tools maintenance, which he has been very willing to share. He has designed and delivered free tool training courses to the volunteers at the centre as well as to young people on the NVQ 1&2 courses at Hollybush.

Becky Ford | Sports Art and Culture Award

Becky is a final year student who sacrificed her whole summer this year to lead on organising, developing and delivering Planet Leeds street festival. Having volunteered full time from June until the event in September, she managed to deliver a successful, dazzling diversity of performers, drawing on a depth and breadth of local Leeds talent, providing great free entertainment for the city.

Sally Blythe | Literacy and Learning Award

Sally's story is a unique story of one women's frustrations with a system to teach English to speakers of other languages that was failing some people. Her passion and determination to help encouraged her to take up volunteering within this field.

Sally had been exposed to volunteering through her paid work at Women's Health Matters. She took the decision to start volunteering one afternoon a week, delivering English for speakers of other languages within one of the Women's Health Matters established black and minority ethnic groups.

Andy Atkinson | Children and Young People Award

Andy's is a spectacular story of triumph against adversity. Born with severe disabilities he had a challenging childhood, he is now an inspiration to many young people in Leeds. A regular volunteer at many youth projects over the years including Kidz Klub, Leeds Faith in Schools and SPACE.

He regularly gives up most of his week to volunteer. He runs a youth group, and does residential placements and events. He also finds the time to teach wheelchair basketball and rugby skills in schools, prisons and in the community. He has even represented England in wheelchair rugby.

Yvonne Crowther | Every Neighbourhood Award

Yvonne has "made a difference through volunteering in the Cardinals area of Beeston" A brief overview of her contributions are providing activities and facilities for young people, ensuring residents have a voice and working to make the estate a cleaner place to live.

James O'Neil | Environment, Parks & Wildlife Award

Jim has volunteered since his retirement in 2005 at Hope Pastures Horse and Donkey Sanctuary. Working tirelessly everyday as a handyman carrying out essential repairs and maintenance work on site. His volunteering also includes welcoming visitors, showing them around the site and telling them about the charity's work. His work deserves recognition for the huge amount of time, energy and effort he puts in.

Lynne Smart | Health and Wellbeing Award

Lynne decided to become a volunteer within the health and well being field "to put something back" having been a user of the services herself. Her outstanding contributions include: supporting a woman's group, organising outings, encouraging and empowering them to plan their activities.

Nowell's Together Residents Group | Safer Leeds Award

The winner of this award is a resident's group formed because of a crime and anti social behaviour crisis in the Nowell's due to a transient population. The group grew in strength through support from their neighbourhood warden, Gail Hardwick and former councillor David Hollingsworth. A successful bid for alley gating the majority of the back streets gave the community the control they needed.

Crime has now significantly reduced and minor issues are tackled promptly. Communication between the community, police and councillors has greatly improved providing a better outlook for the future

Madeleine McGarrie | Inclusive Volunteering Award

Madeleine volunteered throughout summer to design the website called Leeds Action. Leeds Action is all about students having a positive impact on the local community of Leeds through volunteer projects whilst gaining important skills and experience which will enhance their CV's. Creating a complex management system to make it easy for volunteers to become members, as well as maintaining the site throughout the year. The website means that volunteers can sign up, receive information about the screening process and once activated, sign up to individual volunteer projects.

Alister Bould, Pinsent Masons | Corporate Award for Individuals

The winner of this award has built up a close relationship over the last seven years with Cockburn College of Arts in Beeston by providing literacy mentors for identified pupils with a reading age below 12 years and/or working at English NC level 3 or below. He has built the programme from scratch to the established and strong programme that it is today.

Student Neighbourhood Watch Scheme | Transformational Award

This award goes to a unique partnership of departments from Leeds University, Leeds Met and West Yorkshire Police who have worked together to create a Student Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, delivered through volunteers. The volunteers have aimed to transform a whole neighbourhoods, preventing residents, students, and long term residents in the areas of Headingley, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Little London, and Burley from becoming victims of opportunistic crime through peer to peer engagement.

As a result of this volunteering and unique partnership the percentage of walk-in burglaries to student properties has halved since October 2009.

Leeds Legal | Corporate Award for Groups

This award was presented to a Leeds partnership now in its fourth year and is going from strength to strength. This year eight new firms joined the activity including DWF, DLA Piper, Last Cawthra, Mills and Reeve, Plexus Law, Leeds City Council, Walker Morris and Wrigleys, to work with Pinsent Masons, Eversheds, Gordons, Irwin Mitchell, Blacks and Shulmans to support young people in some of our more challenged communities.

Philanthropy Award  | Jimi Heselden OBE, awarded posthumously.

Jimi Heselden was born in Halton Moor and grew up in Leeds. He left school at 15 and started a number of different businesses, demonstrating a true entrepreneurial spirit. In 1990 he set up a firm called Hesco Bastion on the Cross Green Industrial Estate in South Leeds and this now employs over 300 people. The main product is a special container wall system that can be seen protecting our troops in Camp Bastion in Afghanistan and, more recently, has formed the barrier around the coast of America to stop the oil spill from reaching the shores. It has, quite literally, saved thousands of lives.

Throughout his life Jimi has shown his love for Leeds in many ways including giving an amazing £23 million to the Leeds Community Foundation, to provide financial support for local voluntary and community groups here in Leeds. Very tragically this amazing man was killed in a tragic accident just two months ago. The City has lost a great philanthropist and a great friend. His wife Julie received the award on his behalf.

Read his tribute from Leeds Community Foundation.