We've been shortlisted for a National Diversity Award!

We’re all very excited to announce that AAM has been shortlisted for the Community Organisation award at this year’s National Diversity Awards!

The National Diversity Awards celebrate the dedication and hard work of grass-root communities that tackle the issues in today’s society. The awards are for people who inspire others through their work, through their commitment to helping others, through their infectious personalities and through adversity. We’re very proud to have made the shortlist!

We’ll be joining 124 community organisations and role models from across the UK at the award ceremony in Liverpool in September. We can’t wait to meet all the other nominees and hear about the brilliant work they do.

Over 28,000 people nominated organisations and individuals for the National Diversity Awards this year, including all of you who nominated AAM.

We’ve been allowed to read the nominations (with names removed, so we don’t know who said what). We’ve been humbled to read what everyone wrote about AAM and the difference our projects make. We want to say a big, heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you. It means the world to us to be recognised at a national awards ceremony, and we wouldn’t be there without all of you.

We hope you don’t mind, but we wanted to share some of what people wrote about AAM. They’ve made us even more proud of our fantastic team than usual:

"Accessible Arts & Media are an incredible organisation! Nothing is ever too difficult or too much trouble. Everyone is made to feel welcome and encouraged to share their skills with others, who might not yet know they have skills yet. They are masters at making people feel good about themselves and living every moment to the full. People blossom at AAM and everyone has huge amounts of fun doing it!"

"A small charity doing amazing community work that affects a huge cross section of society and meets their needs with compassion, stimulation, excitement and a staff working with great commitment."

"There is a real sense of joy and celebration of the uniqueness of everyone who is involved with Accessible Arts and Media, and this sense is not just communicated to participants but is taken out into the wider community through their live performance work… The sense of infectious joy and commitment that Accessible Arts and Media performers bring to any audience, whether in a traditional performance space, or on the streets of York, is great enough to show that diversity is not only important, but a joy and privilege to be part of."

"Diversity and inclusiveness is the air they breathe, and visible in all they do."

"The work they carry out is with care and support every time! I have personally never come across such a great team who provided the residents such a great afternoon! Some never see anyone or get out at all so that time once a week Is a god send! Thank you!"

"Wonderful team of people who always go the extra mile to make those struggling more at ease, even for those few hours! Its benefits are huge! We can’t thank you enough for the time you give & the absolute joy it gives my mum in law suffering with dementia!"

"AAM is an incredible community organisation. They work in really imaginative and innovative ways to make a huge difference to the lives of adults with learning difficulties. AAM helps reduce isolation, lets people make friends and just have plain fun through music and art!"

"As an organisation, their hearts are in everything they do… The team who prepare and deliver this work are second to none in their dedication and enthusiasm who always give over and beyond what is required of them."

"There is nothing nicer than people realising they are special and unique, but also feeling normal, and part of the community; not outside of it."

"I would like to nominate Accessible Arts and Media for the award as they put people at the heart of what they are doing and at the end of the day that is what life is all about."

"They deliver fun, fun and more fun in all that they do."