Legendary Venue DJ and charity hero Wayne Groves 'blown away' by Best of South Tyneside Award nomination for his good work

But Wayne Groves is in the running for honours thanks to the way he has helped numerous causes in the borough while the world was in lockdown during the pandemic.

Even more amazingly, he did it while he was in acute pain and has only just been diagnosed with aggravated arthritis.

When the Shields Gazette told him he had been nominated, he said: “This has blown me away. I am lost for words.”

South Shields man Wayne, 42, has been fundraising for such a long time, he can not remember how much he has raised or how many charities he has helped.

The man who has been described as a ‘local hero’ in one nomination said: “I do not do it for recognition. Everyone should help each other especially after what the world has been through lately.”

Wayne is a familiar face in the area. Thousands of nightclub regulars will know him as he is the DJ who kept them entertained at venues such as Venue and Atlantic in South Shields, Chambers in Sunderland, and nightspots in Newcastle and Whitley Bay.

Others will know him more recently as the man who kept people entertained with weekly online charity quizzes at The Maltings during lockdown. He did it while supporting a different charity each time and he eventually did 32 weeks of quizzes.

He helped the Charlie and Carter Foundation, the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, Cancer Connections, Combined Touch and many more worthy causes besides.

One of the Best of South Tyneside Awards nominations which came in for him said: “Even if he did not win fundraiser of the year, he could easily be a local hero winner in my eyes.

"“He is always fundraising non stop, always sponsoring others and always helping people in any way he can. He even does a magazine as a way of helping people.”

Another said: “If anyone deserves an award it is him, as he is always helping others and fundraising.”

But modest Wayne, who now works for a South Shields fabrics firm, said: “To even get one nomination is amazing. Just to be nominated is an honour to me.”

The annual Best of South Tyneside Awards are back and we are ready to honour the people, businesses, groups and heroes who make the borough such a great place.

Once we pass the competition deadline, a panel of judges will meet to draw up the shortlist, before the winners are decided at an awards ceremony which will be held on December 15.

For now, though, get those nominations in. Send them by email to lynn.wild@jpimedia. co.uk.

To find out more, visit https://www.bestofsouthtyneside.co.uk/

The categories:

Local Hero Award.

Fundraiser of the Year.

Small Business of the Year.

Sporting Achievement of the Year.

Community Champion.

Community Group of the Year.

Large Business of the Year.

Sports Team of the Year.

Child of Achievement.

Green Champion of the Year.

Child of Courage.

Young Performer of the Year.

Entrepreneur of the Year.

Covid hero of the year.

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