DEREK Gaskell, of Regent Road, Lostock, Bolton, has been nominated for a Whitbread Volunteer Action Award for his outstanding contribution to the community.

For the last ten years Derek has been raising funds for the regional neurosurgical unit at Hope Hospital, and so far the total stands at more than £500,000 for research and equipment. Derek has also founded a charity called BASIC, which supports patients all over the UK recovering from brain surgery.

He is one of many individuals and groups put forward for this year's Whitbread and Make A Difference Awards - a joint venture between the Whitbread Volunteer Action Awards, which recognise individual volunteers and the Government's Make a difference Awards, which recognise volunteer groups. The Whitbread Volunteer Action Awards have been running for 14 years and have attracted hundreds of nominations annually from supporters of Britain's 21 million volunteers. Make a Difference is a major Government initiative launched in 1994 to promote voluntary involvement in the community and ensure that voluntary activity continues to be seen as an essential and enduring feature of modern society.

Run in association with The National Centre for volunteering, the national volunteer development agencies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the National Youth Agency, the awards offer £25,000 in prize money.

This is divided between separate Whitbread and Make a Difference winners in seven English regions, together with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; a special youth award made to young individual or group involving young volunteers; a Whitbread Changemakers Award given to a young person or a group of people working together as part of a school or college project, and overall UK individual and group winners. Individual winners will receive £1,000 - half for the cause for which they were nominated and half to be spent at their discretion. Winning organisations will receive £1,000 to be used for development in their organisation. The overall winners, will receive a further £1,000.

Nomination forms are available by writing to: The Whitbread and Make a Difference Volunteering Awards, FREEPOST LOL 1936, Luton, Beds, LU1 3YR or telephone (01582) 397759 or (01582) 397292. Nominations will be accepted until September 27.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.