Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths is calling on people to nominate their choice to be honoured as a young summer hero.
Ms Griffiths, who is also the Welsh Government Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, is backing the campaign launched by the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham to find Summer Stars who deserve to be recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty.
The winning youngsters, aged 11 or under, will have their names inscribed at a Hollywood-style Walk of Fame at the shopping centre.
The AM said: “I think the search for Summer Stars is a great idea and could help give some local youngsters the boost they need.
“There’s bags of talent among the youngsters of Wrexham and I feel sure there will be some very worthy nominees.
“I would urge everyone to have a good think about the young people in their communities who deserve a pat on the back either for the work they do, the troubles they have overcome or for simply being a good example to their peers and get nominating now.”
The search is being spearheaded by BAFTA winning children’s TV producer Nia Ceidiog, who was brought up in Coedpoeth and went to Ysgol Morgan Llwyd.
Nia wrote the original Fireman Sam stories in English and Welsh and has a long list of credits including the popular series, Something Special, for CBeebies.
She was thrilled to support the Summer Stars initiative that’s being organised to coincided with the children’s activities at Eagles Meadow over the summer holidays.
The activities will include visits by popular television characters like Paddington on August 4, Shaun the Sheep on August 11, Spongebob Squarepants on August 18 and The Gruffalo on August 25.
The winning Summer Star will receive a £25 voucher from The Entertainer toy shop, a family tickets for Tenpin and the Odeon and a voucher for a family meal at Frankie and Benny’s worth £50 and a voucher worth up to £30 from Nando’s. Meanwhile, the runner up will receive family tickets for the Odeon and Tenpin along with a voucher for a family meal at Frankie and Benny’s worth £50.
Nia explained they qualities the judges would be looking for.
She said: “Maybe they look out for an elderly neighbour or play an important role in their local church, community centre or youth club. Or maybe they are a rising sports star.
“Whatever their shining example to their peer group is, we want to hear about it.”
Eagles Meadow manager Kevin Critchley said: “I’m very grateful to Lesley Griffiths and Nia Ceidiog for supporting this initiative.
“Young people today very often get a bad press but the vast majority of young people are fantastic.
“They are our citizens of the future and when they do something well they deserve some positive recognition.
“That’s what our Summer Stars initiative is all about – we want to give credit where it’s due.”
To enter a young person you know, aged 11 and under, please email a short description of the nominee along with your contact details, including a daytime telephone number, to [email protected] Entries should be received by Friday, July 31.
