THERE truly are many people in the district whose positive contributions to society have gone unnoticed until now.

But The Review's gold awards scheme, which aims to give recognition to those individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, is finally raising the profiles of those who deserve a big pat on the back.

Reporter Alex Barham has spoken to just a few unsung heroes nominated by Review readers so far.

AUDACIOUS fund raiser Diana Rainback risked nearly scolding her feet by walking on fire to fulfill a promise to her son who died from a brain tumour last year.

Ali Rainback, a talented ski instructor and formerly of Wheathampstead, spent the last seven weeks of his life at St Francis Hospice in Berkhamstead where he sadly died, aged 35, in June last year after losing his seven-month battle with an inoperable tumour.

In the last six months his mother Diana of Wadling Lane, Wheathampstead has managed to raise a staggering £50,000 for the hospice which cares for terminally ill people in the district, and her hopes are pinned on reaching a £100,000 target - enough to fund a hospice bed for one year - by the end of the year.

Her tireless charity work was prompted by a pact formed prior to Ali's death that she would keep his memory alive by raising money for the hospice where he spent his final weeks.

But by no means has Diana used conventional methods of fund raising - she has taken her charity work to daring levels, risking pain and permanent scarring to obtain those all important funds and make her late son proud.

Last year she attempted to conquer her fear of fire by completing a 22ft walk across hot coles - all in the name of charity.

Diana said: "The reason I'm doing this is me and Ali talked about it and we wanted to do something postive . For me it's something I promised Ali and something I committed myself to. It's hard work but I'm going to do it. We owe such a debt of gratitude to the hospice. They were so supportive of us and we have to support them. It brings a lump to my throat every time I think about what they did for us."

Dr Ros Taylor, who cared for Ali during his stay at the hospice, said: "We got to know Diana very well during the tragic episode of caring for Ali and we have been completely over-whelmed by Diana's fundraising success since Ali died. She has raised in excess of £50,000 in just a few months and contuniues to inspire others to give their support ot St Francis so that more of our care can be experineced by those who need it.

"She's often said to me that fund raising for the hospice is giving some meaning to losing Ali and this is what gives her the energy to carry on. She is channeling her grief into this amazing target she has set herself in a year, and she's over halfway there."

Diana along with her dedicated troop of fund raisers, self named Team Rainback, have a whole host of sponsored events in the pipeline including a music hall in Kimpton next month, a night-time ski session in the French ski resort of Courcheval, where Ali used to work, and a five-aside football tournament in the summer.

The awards will run throughout 2009.

Review readers will be asked to nominate individuals for a Community Gold Award. Each month a winner will be chosen by the judges and details of their community work will be published by the Review.

Nominations could come from any part of the community including: schools, charities, sports clubs, businesses, essential services and even from friends or neighbours.

At the end of 2009 the monthly winners will be invited to an awards dinner, when an overall winner will be announced.

Do you know an unsung hero? If so we want to hear from you.

  • To nominate someone, text the word “hero” to 80360 followed by their name, your name and a brief description of what they have done. You can also nominate somebody via email. Simply send your nomination catchlined “Hero” to revieweditor@london.newsquest.co.uk Nominations can also be made by phone: Simply call 09012210080 and leave your details when prompted.