Eight local community heroes have been honoured at this year’s BBC Radio Kent’s Make a Difference awards in a glamorous ceremony at the Chatham Historic Dockyard.
For the third year running BBC Local has received a record number of entries and nominations for the awards; celebrating ordinary people and, for the first time, animals doing extraordinary things in their communities.
This year’s winners were presented with their accolades at the special Make a Difference Awards ceremony hosted by BBC Radio Kent presenters Anna Cookson [Front left) and Dominic King [Front right] on Wednesday 4th September. In total there are 38 ceremonies taking place across the country, all the way through September.
The aim of the awards is to shine a light on the everyday, unsung heroes who go that extra mile for others in their own community. From the hundreds of nominations, a shortlist was drawn up and a winner chosen by a special panel of judges from the local region. In Kent, this year’s judges were Rev. David Green, Ajaib Hussain, Dr. Dalia Halpern-Matthews, Professor Emeritus Sue Sanders, Dr. Ranj Singh, Josephine McCartney, Dr, Jack Jacobs, Iman Safeer Khan, Marion Shoard, David Welch, and Christina Astin.
This year BBC Morning Live have teamed up with the Make A Difference Awards to support the very first Morning Live Community Award for all Local stations.
In total. there are eight awards categories, and the winners are:
Categories 2024:
Mike Williams – Volunteer Award– Awarded to an individual who makes a notable difference to their community by giving their time voluntarily to help others.
Karen Brinkman – Community Groups Award – Awarded to a group of people who have helped to genuinely change the lives of others within their community. Championed by BBC Morning Live.
Graham Burns – Fundraiser Award – Awarded to an individual or group of people who have gone the extra mile to raise funds for a good cause.
Byron Luckhurst – Carer Award – Awarded to someone who improves the life of an individual or group of people through their helpfulness, compassion and support.
Val Sargeant – Great Neighbour Award – Awarded to an individual who helps to make the neighbourhood a better place to live or work, either on a regular basis or through a single act of kindness.
Leigh Stevens – Bravery Award – Awarded to an individual or group of people who has shown outstanding courage, defiance and duty in the face of perceived danger, fear or difficulty.
Maya’s Community Support Centre – The Green Award – Awarded to an individual or group of people who make where they live a better place by caring for the environment and nature.
‘Willow’ & Charlie Savin – The Animal Award *New for 2024*- Awarded to an animal that improves the life of an individual or group of people. Or, a person or group of people working with animals to improve animal welfare.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Make a Difference became a virtual noticeboard for local communities across England, putting those in need of help in touch with those able to offer it. Post-pandemic, the awards are still as important as ever as the local heroes help those impacted by issues that can deeply affect our communities.
Vicki Berry, Executive Editor at BBC Radio Kent said: “It was an absolute privilege to be able to honour and shine a light on the incredible people who were nominated for The BBC Radio Kent Make A Difference Awards this year. The stories of courage, selflessness and kindness were inspiring, humbling and sometimes very moving. Most of the people nominated have never received any reward or even acknowledgment of the work they do, often in very difficult circumstance, so it was a joy to be able to celebrate them in the beautiful and unique surroundings of Chatham Dockyard. It was a night to remember for all.”
Chris Burns, Controller Local Audio Commissioning said: “The Make a Difference Awards celebrate the good things that happen with our communities and it’s great to see that every year we see more and more nominations. The award ceremonies for me are a humbling experience and I feel privileged that we get to shine a light on these stories and give our listeners a chance to celebrate the unsung heroes where they live. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate someone and a huge congratulations to our winners.”
To find out more about the awards visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/makeadifference
BBC Radio Kent is available on 96.7 FM (west Kent) , 104.2 FM (east Kent), 97.6 FM (Folkestone), DAB Digital Radio, Freeview channel 711 and via the BBC Sounds app.