The 21-year-old is giving his whole life to becoming the kind of committed youth worker who helped him turn his own life around as a teenager.

Four years ago, Allan was arrested for robbery – an attempt to feed a drug habit that had spiralled out of control. He was given a community penalty and had to undergo a drugs treatment course.

Everything changed for Allan when he met team members from Eden Westwood and Firwood Church who shared the gospel with him and helped him start afresh.

He quickly started volunteering with the Eden team, helping out with youth work and acting as a mentor to other young men. Just two years later, he was nominated for the Volunteer Award – and won.

‘Receiving the award was a real encouragement to keep going,’ says Allan. ‘The awards are a real recognition of what God is doing in people’s lives.’ It also confirmed Allan’s desire to continue to train for full-time youth work. After completing a course in music technology, Allan enrolled on a BA Honours course in Theology at the Nazarene  theological college:

‘I have two main passions in my life – one is God and the other is music. My dream is to combine the two with youth work. I want to work with young people.’

Allan returns home to Oldham every weekend to continue helping out with the youth work at Firwood, investing in relationships with young people over sports and music activities and two services on a Sunday. All the hard work is bearing fruit – Firwood’s youth work is thriving and seeing many young people coming to know Jesus.

‘We’re starting to see some of the young people we’ve been working with for a long time finally making decisions for God,’ says Allan. ‘The reason many of them have waited is because they wanted to take it seriously. One came up to me recently in tears and apologised for being rowdy and hard work. There’s real change happening – what was for a long time evangelism is now discipleship.’

This year’s Urban Hero of the Year award winner turned his problematic behaviour around to become a follower of Jesus and a leader among his peers.

‘We knew John from the age of about ten,’ says Ben Woodfield, team leader of Eden Old Trafford and youth worker of Urban Hero Awards 2010 winner John McGuinness.

‘He was known in Old Trafford as a little rascal – or words to that effect! – and it was clear that his behaviour was starting to get out of control.’

Until two years ago, 15-year-old John was regularly being excluded from school and grounded at home.

Anger and confusion at the early death of his father led to John making some destructive choices and getting a bad reputation in Old Trafford. But support from the Eden team and their partner church, St Brides, helped John to find a different path.

‘We began to get to know him, his mum Barbara and her partner Nick, and gradually John got involved in some of our youth activities,’ recounts Ben. ‘Through his relationship with us he experienced people’s real faith in action. He saw people moving into Old Trafford, attempting to follow Jesus in his neighbourhood, and often experiencing tough things.’

John made a decision to follow Jesus and began to be mentored by Ben who immediately saw enormous potential in him: ‘We saw he was obviously a strong character and had leadership written all over him,’ says Ben. ‘As he entered his teenage years, we started to see a change. He began to get his head down and realise that some of the decisions he was making weren’t good for him.’

John was given the chance to join the St Brides worship band on drums. As he learned to serve, he found himself wanting to put something back into his community.

His discipline and commitment surprised everyone. John started taking an active role in the work of Trafford Housing Trust, completing the first stage of an apprenticeship as part of their Repairs team. He also led the way in putting together a proposal for a new permanent play area for children on his estate.

‘John is inspirational in his commitment to see his local area improve,’ comments Michaela Baker from Trafford Housing Trust. ‘He gets involved on many different levels – he helps plan programmes, runs litter picks and gets fully involved in decision-making groups – often sitting with people with more experience than him but contributing at the same level. He’s really well thought of within the Trust – people look up to him.’

John recently sat his GCSEs and has secured a place at Trafford College to study plumbing next year. He hopes to continue his work with the Housing Trust alongside his studies.

Ben Woodfield adds, ‘It has been an honour to journey with John the last few years. He has really grasped what following Christ is about in a tough place with tough things happening around him.

‘He hasn’t lost his personality – this hasn’t been a “socialisation” process. He has met with Jesus in a deep and profound way. He’s proved to us that he’s not just saying he’s changed – there’s real fruit to those words.’

‘He would honestly say that knowing God has turned his life around.’

A young man from Old Trafford who turned his problematic behaviour around to become a leader among his peers has won the Volunteer Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

John McGuinness, 15, was until two years ago regularly being excluded from school and grounded at home. Anger and confusion at the early death of his father led to John making some destructive choices and getting a bad reputation in Old Trafford.

Ben Woodfield from Eden Old Trafford, a youth project run in association with The Message Trust, is John’s youth worker. He explains:

‘We knew John from the age of about 10. He was known in Old Trafford as a little rascal – or words to that effect! – and it was clear that his behaviour was starting to get out of control.

‘We began to get to know him, his mum Barbara and her partner Nick, and gradually John got involved in some of our youth activities.

We saw he was obviously a strong character and had leadership written all over him so we started mentoring him and as he entered his teenage years, we started to see a change. He began to get his head down and realise that some of the decisions he was making weren’t good for him.’

John found himself wanting to to put something back into his community and the Eden team helped to steer him towards suitable opportunities. But his discipline and commitment surprised everyone. Beginning with a regular slot playing in a church band, John began to get involved with his local community on a volunteer basis.

John started taking an active role in the work of Trafford Housing Trust, completing the first stage of an apprenticeship as part of their Repairs team. He also led the way in putting together a proposal for a new permanent play area for children on his estate.

Michaela Baker from Trafford Housing Trust comments, ‘John is inspirational in his commitment to see his local area improve. He gets involved on many different levels – he helps plan programmes, runs litter picks and gets fully involved in decision-making groups – often sitting with people with more experience than him but contributing at the same level.

‘He’s really well thought of within the Trust – people look up to him.’

John recently sat his GCSEs and has secured a place at Trafford College to study plumbing next year. He hopes to continue his work with the Housing Trust alongside his studies.

The Volunteer Award, one of five,was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Ben Woodfield explains the reasons the Eden team nominated John:

‘People in the local community have been so impressed by him. He’s proved to us that he’s not just saying he’s changed – there’s real fruit to those words.

‘This is the story of a young guy who has started to make positive decisions in the face of some of life’s harder experiences and in an environment where some of his peers are failing to make those good choices.

‘We’re very hopeful for John’s future and excited about who he’s becoming.’

John’s Award was presented by Mick Spratt, MD of Wigwam Acoustics, the Award sponsor.

A young man from Old Trafford who turned his problematic behaviour around to become a leader among his peers was named Urban Hero of the Year 2010 last night (Friday, July 9).

John McGuinness, pictured right, also picked up the Volunteer Award for services to his local community at the third annual Urban Hero Awards, presented by The Message Trust.

The Awards recognise young people who have made exceptional contributions to their local communities over the last year – or have bravely overcome a major obstacle in their lives. All of the nominees have been directly impacted by the work of The Message.

Around 700 people gathered to celebrate the achievements of the winners. VIPs including Lord Mayor Mark Hackett, Chief Constable Peter Fahy and business leaders Sir John Zochonis and David Briggs joined celebrities including Olympian Diane Modahl and a host of stars from stage and screen.

Five awards winners were named before the overall Urban Hero of the Year was announced.

Fifteen-year-old Andrei Keating won the Achiever Award for impressing family and friends by transforming his attitude to school and achieving significant qualifications over the last year. Click here for Andrei’s story.

An innovative partnership between the church, police, local authorities and the housing association in Limeside, Oldham won the Champion Award. Click here for their story.

Nick Shahlavi, a former drug dealer who transformed his life and is now helping others transform theirs walked off with the Inspiration Award. Click here for Nick’s story.

And sixteen-year-old Cody O’Grady from Openshaw who fought aggressive cancer this year was named winner of the Courage Award. Click here for Cody’s story.

But the Volunteer Award and the overall Urban Hero of the Year title went to John McGuinness, 15, from Old Trafford.

Until two years ago, John was regarded as a local trouble maker, regularly excluded from school and a problem at home. But it all changed when he started getting involved with Eden Old Trafford, a youth project run in association with The Message.

As he began to be mentored by members of the Eden team, his leadership abilities quickly became obvious to everyone around him. Before long, John was volunteering regularly for his church, his local housing trust and other community activities.

Ben Woodfield, John’s youth worker commented, ‘This is the story of a young guy who has started to make positive decisions in the face of some of life’s harder experiences and in an environment where some of his peers are failing to make those good choices. We’re very hopeful for John’s future and excited about what he’s becoming.’

As well as his trophy, John was presented with ten drum lessons with LZ7 drummer Rob and a top-flight drum kit.

Staged at Manchester’s Palace Hotel, the night also featured live performances from The Message’s schools bands LZ7, Twelve24 and theatre company In Yer Face.

‘We work with 100,000 young people a year and this is just a snapshot of all those lives were involved with in Greater Manchester and beyond,’ said Message CEO and host of the evening, Andy Hawthorne, as he asked guests to give generously to support The Message.

‘But I’m frustrated. There’s so much more to be done. But there’s no way we can do it on our own. Thank you for all your support.’

The Urban Hero Awards 2010 was sponsored by Stagecoach and a host of north west businesses: Wigwam, Safe Records Management, Stephensons, The Grand and Jurang.

***

Urban Heroes in the Press: On Friday 16 July, the Manchester Evening News printed a special eight-page supplement celebrating the winners of the Urban Hero Awards 2010. Make sure you pick up your copy.

Watch each of the winner’s nomination videos via our Media Hub.

A gift to The Message Trust today will allow us to raise many more Urban Heroes in the year to come. Click here to give online.

A young man from Openshaw who fought aggressive cancer this year was awarded the Courage Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

Cody O’Grady, 16, was nominated by his youth leader who watched how he and his family bravely coped through diagnosis, treatment and its side effects.

Sam Ward from Eden Openshaw, part of The Message Trust – a  youth charity working with the hardest-to-reach young people in Manchester’s prisons, schools and communities – explains:

‘Ten months ago, Cody came along to our football training session on a Wednesday night. He seemed to have a really sore eye but he said he’d been prescribed some antibiotics and so we thought nothing more of it.

‘But a couple of weeks later Cody turned up at a club and his face was a whole lot worse. What he first thought was a sinus infection actually turned out to be aggressive cancer. He was referred to Christies Hospital for treatment.

‘We got a call at 2.30am one morning from Cody’s dad, Steve. He said Cody was in a bad way. When we arrived, Cody was struggling to move and could hardly breathe. We rushed him to Christies who told us this a serious tumour that was heading towards the brain, which would be fatal. They started chemotherapy that night.’

Cody’s treatment has put him in incredible pain. Successive courses of chemo-and radiotherapy meant he lost weight at an alarming rate. Cody also had to overcome his claustrophobia as he spent many hours in scanning and radiotherapy machines.

Without a car to take them to and from Christies, Cody’s parents Steve and Debbie relied on support from the Eden team and the local church, Openshaw Community Church, to visit Cody. The Eden team also organised weekly prayer vigils throughout the treatment.

Cody’s father, Steve, is proud of how his son coped over the last year:

‘He never complained. He never once moaned. Six months of chemo, six weeks of radiotherapy – then maintenance therapy. He got me through it, to be honest. He really deserves this award.’

Cody’s award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Prior to the Awards, Sam Ward explained why he chose to nominate Cody for the Courage Award:

‘It’s the way Cody has coped with cancer that makes him so courageous. He just got on with it – the way he’s coped with the treatment and the side effects. He has been in severe pain but never even wanted pain relief. He just wants to get on with life.’

At the point of nomination Cody was responding so well to treatment that doctors informed him that he was heading for remission and that only maintenance therapy was required. He was expected to gain strength and return to the standard routines of life.

But as the Awards night approached Cody suffered two significant attacks, both of which left him comatose for days. At first doctors thought this was simply a reaction to his many months of treatment but tests revealed that Cody’s cancer had reappeared in the lining around his brain.

Cody was told that he had only months to live as there were nothing further the doctors could do. With only a handful of people knowing the prognosis, Cody stood strong in front of the many hundreds of guests at the Urban Hero Awards Ceremony.

His courage was clear for all to see. Cody fought on, living each day at a time. He came to know Jesus and valued times of prayer.

A rapid decline saw Cody readmitted to hospital in late August but he requested to be allowed home. Doctors granted his last wish.

Cody passed away peacefully in his own bed on September 8th, 2010.

A former drug dealer who transformed his life and is now helping others transform theirs has won the Inspiration Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

Nick Shahlavi, 27, from north Manchester found himself in a world of drugs and violence from his early teenage years.

‘I was raised by a good mum who did her best, but I found it hard to come under any kind of authority and stick to the rules. I had a lot of anger. I fell into a life of drugs – any kind of drugs.

‘It got heavy – dealing, career criminals, kidnappings, beatings, death threats, suicidal behaviour, crack and coke addiction.’

Things changed for Nick following what he describes as an ‘incredible set of miracles. The power of God transformed my life, renewed me inside and set my heart on fire for other people who are in the same predicament as me.’

Earlier this year, Nick was invited to become an intern with Reflex, part of The Message Trust, a youth charity working with the hardest-to-reach young people in Manchester’s prisons, schools and communities.

Now part of a small team, Nick runs courses and outreach work, building positive relationships with convicted young offenders in three of the region’s prisons.

‘My story inspires the guys on the wings,’ says Nick. ‘I’ve experienced a lot of the same stuff that they have been through or are going through. I’m truthful about how eager I was to pursue a life of crime as a career.

‘And I can tell them that if it weren’t for God, I’d be dead – either by my own hand or someone else’s hand. I know that for a fact.

‘I can be a voice of hope and encouragement to them. I’m a walking testimony of what God’s done for me and what change is possible.’

Nick’s award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Matt Hawthorne, a colleague on the Reflex team nominated Nick for the award. He fist met Nick eight years ago, when he was still deep in a life of crime. He witnessed Nick’s transformation 18 months ago and has been impressed with his passion and boldness since then:

‘I’ve seen his heart for serving and his gift for communication. He’s been leading loads of his friends from his old lifestyle to Jesus and out of crime, drugs and the occult.

‘I’ve nominated Nick because he has transformed his own life through an incredibly difficult past and is now inspiring and encouraging others around him.’

Nick’s award was presented by Paul Nadin of Jurang Fair Trade, the Award sponsor.

An innovative partnership between the church, police, local authorities and the housing association in Limeside, Oldham has been awarded the Champion Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards.

The Award, presented by Manchester youth charity The Message Trust, recognises their unique achievement in both reducing anti-social behaviour in the area and championing partnership as the best way to achieve it.

The partnership started life in late 2008 as New Life Church in Failsworth began working with The Message to bring an Eden Bus youth project to the area. Funding and support from the local housing association, Regenda, helped get the project off the ground.

It quickly gained momentum involving young people from the neighbourhood, having an immediate and positive impact on the local community in Limeside.

So when local police began planning for a three-month dispersal order in the Hollingwood and Limeside areas in late 2009, they were keen to tap into the enthusiasm and passion the team displayed.

Inspector David Stopford explains: ‘Dispersal orders are usually initiated by the police on their own – it’s one tool in the toolbox to deal with young people acting in an antisocial manner. This is fine but what you can end up doing is simply moving a problem from A to B, and not really solving the root issues.’

‘What we were able to do [in Limeside] is to work with partners to provide positive diversionary activities for young people. So it’s not just been about law enforcement, it’s been about providing good facilities for young people to go to, rather than hanging around on street corners.’

By the time the dispersal order began in December, several new initiatives for young people were in place, including the Eden Bus project and New Life Church’s Street Link initiative.

The partnership was a huge success. Inspector Stopford’s team saw a reduction of over 50% in calls about antisocial behaviour from the general public from December to March. Reports of associated crimes such as criminal damage and vehicle crime were also down. It’s a trend that he believes will continue:

‘It’s had a great impact. Right from the launch, the young people have understood why we’re running this dispersal order and seen how groups of young people can be intimidating to other residents. They’ve also seen our motivation to put something on for them – facilities, initiatives, opportunities – and these things will continue even though the dispersal order has finished.’

Neil Newberry, team leader of Eden Limeside, adds: ‘The difference has come from the agencies coming together and putting their cards on the table. We discovered we had similar aims and goals and we decided to pool our resources and work together.

‘Because of this, the atmosphere has changed. The young people have seen us working together and seen that we’re in it for the long-haul. They can see that the partnership’s goal is to benefit them. So they’ve been much more engaged with activities and really want to belong to the community.’

News of the success is spreading. According to Neighbourhood Manager John Norris, no other region has had the same amount of support and passion from local groups. In fact, the partnership has so inspired the local council that they have commissioned a DVD to be made that will promote ‘best practice’ to other areas how partnership can make the difference.

The Champion Award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards, taking place at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9.

‘Winning the award has been fantastic,’ says Newberry. ‘I know that we’ll be celebrating this through the whole of Oldham.’

The award was sponsored by The Grand, Clitheroe and collected on behalf of the partnership by Neil and Lydia Newberry.

A teenager from Harpurhey has won the Achiever Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

Andrei Keating, 15, has impressed family, friends and teachers by transforming his attitude, achieving significant qualifications over the last year, and telling others about his story.

Andrei’s start in life was difficult, losing his father at an early age and growing up in an area officially listed as one of the most deprived in England.

But his real problems began in school, following a family tragedy. The emotional damage led to a long period of absence and eventually exclusion from school.

His last chance was a place at Harpurhey’s Lighthouse Group – a special education centre working with teenagers who have been excluded from mainstream schools, working in partnership with The Message Trust.

Graham Boxall, youth development worker at the centre, remembers when Andrei arrived: ‘He first came to us in January 2009 – angry, aggressive and negative about most things. He was argumentative, always trying to prove his point and he struggled to engage in class learning.

‘The team worked closely alongside him, getting to understand him and build a close relationship. We supported him to deal with his emotional issues, directing him and helping him.’

Thanks to this support, Andrei began to see things differently:

‘It was like looking from the third person,’ remembers Andrei himself. ‘I could see what I was doing to other people. I was losing a lot of my friends because of the way I was acting. I took a step back, saw what I was doing and decided I needed to change. I saw that I couldn’t keep going in that direction.’

Staff at the centre remember how one morning, Andrei walked into the centre, sat down and declared, ‘I want to work. Let’s stop messing about and get on with it.’

They assumed he was playing a joke. But Andrei turned out to be very serious and has applied himself ever since. He worked hard towards an ASDAN bronze award, and recently achieved his silver award.

‘Support from the Lighthouse Group and Eden Harpurhey team was like a circle of positivity,’ says Andrei. ‘I didn’t think I was much of an achiever. But I’m proud of myself now.’

With a couple of qualifications now under his belt, Andrei is aiming for a career in music as an MC, rapper and producer. He has said that he only wants to rap using positive lyrics.

Andrei’s award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Graham Boxhall explains why they nominated Andrei:

‘We nominated him for the Achiever Award because of the change we’ve seen in him. We know his background and how tough it’s been for him. For many people these events could easily have led to a path of self-destruction and possibly crime.

‘But Andrei has managed to break free from what may have led to this destructive lifestyle by listening to and and being influenced by positive people around him, staying focussed on his education and spreading a positive message to his peers and anyone who’ll listen.’

Andrei’s award was presented by Andrew Leakey from Stephenson’s Solicitors, the Award sponsor.

Our work in Manchester and beyond is helping tens of thousands of young people like them. But with your help, we could do do much more.

Please click here to give online right now.

A regular gift, no matter how small, is the best way to help us reach more young people year by year.

To set up a regular gift by Direct Debit, please contact Jo Nicholson, Supporter Relations Officer, on 0161 946 2328 or contact her by email.

Thank you so much,

Andy Hawthorne.

The five winners of our 2009 Urban Hero Awards have been making the news this week with coverage in local media across Greater Manchester and further afield.

The highlight so far has been an amazing eight-page pullout in Wednesday’s Manchester Evening News featuring interviews and photos of all the winners and Message founder Andy Hawthorne.

Channel M have also been running coverage of the night on the region’s TV channel. See the story, along with video footage, at MEN’s website.

You can request a free copy of the souvenir pullout by emailing Jo Nicholson at The Message (limited number available).