North West Hampshire’s Youth MP has called for nominations to an awards scheme designed at recognising those who went above and beyond during the pandemic.

The Unsung Hero Awards will recognise two Test Valley residents each week for the work they’ve done, with the recipients shortlisted from public nominations. It is being run as a partnership between Dmitrijs Meiksans MYP and the charity Unity.

“The pandemic has been difficult in so many ways and for a lot of people,” said Dmitrijs. “At the very beginning of the first lockdown, there began an urgent need for volunteers to support those shielding, vulnerable and self-isolating. Unity lead the Test Valley effort to support its residents during the pandemic via the Test Valley Community Helpline, with the support of local community organisations and Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC).”

The awards have been in the pipeline for some time. Having received support from bodies including Romsey Town Council, TVBC and The Lifestyle Card, delays in Andover Town Council’s grant procedures led Dmitrijs to call on them to put “political agendas aside”.

Following funding being received from all the parties, the awards will now run for 10 weeks from March until mid-May, with two recipients of the award being announced each week. The stories will be shared across local media and social platforms throughout the period.

Dmitrijs continued: “It is time now to further reflect on the selfless actions of the people who have dedicated a lot of time and effort to be able to provide for their local communities, and we wanted to do come together to do something to honour them and boost morale by sharing their stories of volunteering during the Coronavirus pandemic.”

The chief executive of Unity, Terry Bishop, said: “Unity has been engaged with the Covid-19 response since the pandemic commenced in March last year. To be able to partner Dmitrijs to sing the praises of those across the valley who have done so much to help their communities seems a natural extension to this work.

“Unity has been running the Test Valley Annual Volunteering Awards for many years, so it seems only right for us to be involved in this campaign. There are so many individuals who are deserving but to be able to shine the light on a few is extremely special indeed.”

Members of the public are able to nominate their unsung hero by visiting: www.testvalleycuha.co.uk/nominate