What is the Jack Petchey Award?
The Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme is the foundation's flagship programme which recognises outstanding young people aged 11-25 across London and Essex. Organisations on the scheme nominate young people they would like to celebrate and acknowledge for an Achievement Award. Each award winner then receives a certificate, pin badge and a book from Sir Jack himself. They also choose how to spend a £300 grant to benefit their school or organisation. As well as this, organisations on the scheme get to apply for a package of other small grants throughout the year.
We are thrilled to announce and celebrate the achievements of our Young Commissioners in receiving their recent Jack Petchey Achievement Awards.
Volunteer Centre Sutton joined the scheme last year when Joseph was our first winner, click to read more here. He attended the annual celebration to receive his medal recently and enjoyed a night out with his Mum and Jenny, the previous Youth Engagement Coordinator, and Young Commissioners volunteer.
We started this year with our next winner. Our group was actively involved in the nomination process, with every Young Commissioner making nominations to help decide the deserving recipient of the award.
At our mid-May session, Jasmin was announced as the second Jack Petchey Award winner which was very much deserved and was presented her certificate by Joseph. Huge congratulations to Jasmin and we are eagerly looking forward to announcing our next winner soon.
Some of the reasons that people gave for nominating Jasmin included...
"Her dedication to the group!"
"For attending every meeting and coming up with great ideas."
...just to name a couple!
As a group, we will be given the exciting task of deciding how to spend the award money with the help of Jasmin, whether for a fun bonding activity or to make a positive change in our community. After thoughtful discussions, the winners have decided to put their award money together to make an extra special end of exam and end of term celebration for all!
As the nomination process was robust, with many members receiving nominations (the large number of dedicated and passionate individuals within the group made this decision process a tricky one!). The staff additionally presented each nominee with a personal certificate, complete with the positive messages from their peers, which brought smiles to many faces and reinforced our community spirit.
Later that evening, Joseph had the honour of attending the official Jack Petchey Award presentation for the award he won last year. The event was spectacular, highlighting the incredible support and opportunities provided by the Jack Petchey Foundation. Joseph said:
"It was a lovely event with great music. Having had my award presented to me by Donna Fraser I felt incredibly privileged and I am thrilled that Jasmin will also get to enjoy this opportunity too. Jasmin is a hardworking member of the Young Commissioners and truly deserves this recognition!"
We extend our deepest gratitude to Jack Petchey for their continued support and for empowering young individuals to achieve and excel. Stay tuned for more updates on our upcoming activities and the announcement of our next Jack Petchey Award winner!
Finally, It is with great sadness that we inform you of the recent death of Sir Jack Petchey CBE, founder of the Jack Petchey Foundation. Sir Jack passed away peacefully in the early hours of Thursday, 27 June 2024. He will be greatly missed by friends, family, and the many young people, teachers, and leaders whose lives have been impacted by Sir Jack’s vision and the work of his Foundation.
Sir Jack's quote,"If you think you can, you can!" will stick with all our young people and motivate them to do great things.
Our young people are incredibly grateful for the help received from Sir Jack. He is an inspiration to all, no matter where you come from or what your background is. You can achieve anything you put your mind to!
If you would like to send a message of condolence or thanks to Sir Jack, your tributes are welcomed to the Jack Petchey in-memory page.
