COMMUNITY HEROES TO BE AWARDED

Cape Town’s Triangle Project will reward community members who have made a significant contribution in the lives of gay and lesbian people.

Since 2002, the Community Award event has highlighted the generous work that individuals have done, most often without any reward to boost the confidence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

“We are inviting members of the public to make nominations for the persons they think have played key roles in the lives of LGBT persons during 2006,” says Marlow Valentine, outreach co-ordinator. “Any member of the public can nominate a person who has sacrificed his/herself as a volunteer in support of the LGBT community.”

Triangle Project invites everyone to participate in these nominations.

The nominees do not necessarily have to be gay or lesbian people. Straight people who’ve played positive roles can also be nominated.

“While making your nominations, it is important to note the personal sacrifices and contributions the person has made and how these have made a positive impact on the lives of the LGBT community,” asserts Tracy Smith, volunteer and events co-ordinator.

Triangle Project initiated these awards to not only identify these worthy persons, but also to publicly acknowledge and reward them for their work.

“These are the unsung heroes among us, whose invaluable work goes unnoticed for its worth and merit,” says Valentine. “Many of these individuals go about these tasks with very limited resources, often doing this out of their personal pockets.”

An independent panel of judges selects the finalists from a list of submitted nominations. The finalists will receive an invitation to the special awards ceremony where they will be rewarded. Recipients of the awards will also be announced during the annual Cape Town PRIDE festival in February.

The due date for all nominations is February 7, 2007 and all nomination forms can be obtained at Triangle Project offices in the Waverley Business Park, Mowbray or can be downloaded from the website at www.triangle.org.za.