The winners of our Young Community Star of the Year Award as part of our Community Heroes Awards 2021 were "delighted" to find out they had won the award.

Macie and Carly Leigh were nominated for the award by their grandmother after they helped her with her food drop off in her pub, the George and Dragon in Flint.

Linda Leigh the girls' grandmother said: "They're absolutely delighted because it kept them busy as well through the lockdown and at first, they started doing the parcels because people were donating food and we were just popping round to the flats. They really got stuck into it and were brilliant and then we do some homeless food as well on a Wednesday.

"I was cooking and they said "Oh can we fill the boxes?" so that was it then, they were cooking next. Brilliant, I'm out of a job now!"

Linda did not tell the girls that they had been entered for the awards, nor anyone else in the family so the announcement of their win came as a surprise to everyone.

When she told them, she said: "They didn't believe me and then I sent them the picture off Leaderlive."

Despite their work bagging the food, the girls only went on one food delivery with their grandmother, having gotten upset about an elderly lady who was overjoyed at seeing them, as she hadn't seen anyone in weeks and was running out of supplies. Linda said: "They've seen what effect it does have, which I think is a good thing for any child to learn."

Macie and Carly continue to help their grandmother with her work, more than earning their win as the Leader's Young Community Star of the Year Award. Well done girls!

The Young Community Star of the Year Award is sponsored by Wrexham Glyndwr University

The Leader: Glyndwr University logo

Wrexham Glyndwr University is still a relatively young university, having been awarded university status in 2008 and is known for the supportive community feel offered to students.

Testament to this are the recent rises across multiple league tables, including Glyndwr being ranked first in Wales and second in the whole of the UK for Teaching Satisfaction and Teaching Quality in the Guardian University Guide 2022 and The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

A spokesman said: “Wrexham Glyndwr also believes that higher education should be available to everyone and strives to provide the best possible accessibility for students – and that’s why the university is number 1 in the UK for social inclusion. We are proud of our graduates who go on to have excellent careers.

“The university is proud to sponsor The Young Community Star award.”

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Maria Hinfelaar, said: “At Wrexham Glyndwr, students aren’t just a number – people know each other by name. As our community’s local university, we’re delighted to be sponsoring this award and are certain there will be many worthy nominations.”