Championing diversity: Deaf Action's story of winning a National Youth Work Award

Deaf Action picked up a Team of the Year award for its role in creating a pioneering youth work service empowering young people in scotland to thrive by forging a positive deaf identity.

National Youth Work Awards winners Deaf Action pose with their Team of the Year trophy

Deaf Action’s Youth Service were crowned Team of the Year at the National Youth Work Awards in 2023. We recently caught up with Mitchell and Charlotte who run the charity’s Youth Club, a service for deaf young people in Scotland. They shared their experiences from the night.

Deaf Action’s Journey to Team of the Year

When we found out we’d been nominated as Team of the Year at the National Youth Work Awards in 2023, we were blown away! Deaf Action’s Youth Club supports deaf young people across Scotland, at every stage of their development. As a deaf-led charity, we have an obligation to support the next generation of deaf young people, empowering them to fulfil their potential and thrive. We work hard throughout the year to create memorable experiences for deaf young people, and we see the impact our work has on them, so to be recognised by YouthLink Scotland gave us a huge confidence boost.

Approaching the National Youth Work Awards, we felt a mix of nerves and anticipation. What would the award ceremony be like? What would we wear? What if we won, would we have to prepare a speech? Yet as soon as we arrived, any nerves vanished. There was an incredible atmosphere. The venue was big, yet it felt intimate. Everyone in the room felt connected, celebrating the amazing work and achievements within the youth work sector.

A Night to Remember: The Awards Ceremony Experience

Then came the main part of the night – the Awards! The ‘Team of the Year’ category included three very strong nominees in our category, all who would have been worthy winners. When they called our name, we couldn’t believe it! Everyone was thrilled, we were honoured to be recognised by our peers.

We were lucky enough to be able to invite some of our young leaders to the awards ceremony, and they loved the experience. They enjoyed being treated like VIPs for the night, but not only that, we could see how inspired they were by everyone around them. We could see their confidence grow, so much so that when we won, one of our young leaders even went on stage to say, ‘thank you’. She’d always been quite shy, so it was amazing to see her confidence grow right in front of our eyes.

Not only did we win the Team of the Year award, but we also picked up a ‘Baffie’ award for our dancing! Each award recipient had to dance up the red carpet to receive their award, and our ‘go fishing’ dance must have caught the judge’s eye!

Deaf Action members performing 'the worm' up the red carpet at the National Youth Work Awards 2023
Deaf Action's red carpet walk certainly stole the show on the evening!

Looking Forward: The Lasting Impact of Our Win

This award is such a huge achievement not only for the team, but it also recognises the passion and dedication our youth workers, volunteers, and young leaders bring to provide an invaluable service to our deaf young people. It has given us the confidence to grow our service, inspiring us to reach more deaf young people.

Since our win, the impact has been clear. More people have become aware of our Youth Club, and we’ve seen even more deaf young people coming through our doors. We’re also looking to bring on board more volunteers, giving them the opportunity to get involved in our work. We hope the impact of this continues for a long time, as we hope to reach even more deaf young people. Huge thanks to YouthLink Scotland for recognising our work!