Local heroes honoured at Make a Difference awards

An asylum seeker who volunteers his time and a neighbour who prioritises supporting others are among this year's winners at BBC Radio CWR's Make a Difference Awards.

Eight local community heroes were honoured at a ceremony at The Slate at the University of Warwick.

Other winners include a woman who helps people train their pets to become support dogs and a youngster with a congenital heart condition.

This year’s winners were presented with their awards at a ceremony hosted by BBC Radio CWR’s Vic Minett and Phil Upton on Sunday.

In Coventry and Warwickshire this year’s judges were Alex Horne, Declan Bennett, David Bradley, Karenjeet Kaur Bains, John Bernard, Charlotte Chilton, Bishop Ruth Worsley and Hacker T Dog.

For the third year running BBC Local 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.

In total there are 38 ceremonies taking place across the country, throughout September.

The aim of the awards is to shine a light on the everyday, unsung heroes who go the 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.

Godfrey, an asylum seeker from Uganda, was the winner of the volunteer award.

He arrived in the UK more than 20 years ago, and due to his status he is unable to do paid work.

But he has not let this stop him being a frequent volunteer at Carriers of Hope in Coventry, an organisation providing practical support to asylum seekers and refugees.

Godfrey is a Christian and his volunteering fulfils two of his ambitions - to help fellow asylum seekers and to put his faith into practice.

He delivers food to people who are housebound, elderly or ill, he takes baby equipment to pregnant women, and he fills the organisation’s van with essential items to bring to the community drop-in centre.

Sherril Donaldson picked up the community award for her dedication, having supported her local area for the last 30 years.

She provides inter-generational opportunities for the black community in Coventry, most recently through running the ArawaK Community Trust (ACT).

She works to make ACT's event calendar come to life, including the Windrush Dinner and Dance, which provides an evening of good food and entertainment to celebrate and commemorate the Windrush generation.

She also organises family fun days in the summer and a children's Christmas party each year, as well as monthly afternoon laugh and chat session for elderly people.

The Charity Christmas Tree Collection, run entirely by volunteers, raised £48,840 in January and is this year’s winner of the fundraiser award.

The collection and recycling of real Christmas trees in return for a charitable donation has taken place for five years.

This year, 3,149 trees were collected with 65 vans and supported by 200 volunteers.

The team of six organisers, led by Scott and Sarah Crowther in memory of their son Ben, recruited a number of corporate partners to help them collect more trees and raise more money for Pass the Smile and The Myton Hospices.

The organising committee work alongside their day jobs and other commitments to promote and run the annual collection.

The project has now raised nearly £150,000 for the two local charities.

Max is a carer for his younger brother Kit, and has won this year’s carer award.

Kit has Down Syndrome and Max goes above and beyond to make sure he is included in things.

Max has taught his friends that having a sibling with additional needs is nothing to be worried about, and as a result Kit is included in Max’s football team and friendship groups.

Max, nine, has never moaned, his mum said, and has always been loving and supportive towards his younger brother.

He also helps his parents out as much as he can.

His mum added that he worked hard in school and sometimes found things difficult but he tried his hardest.

“We are very, very proud of him,” she said.

Steve Blundred is described as a selfless person and has won this year's great neighbour award for going above and beyond to look after people who need help.

In January, he stopped to help an elderly man during flooding in Bretford.

Although it was raining, Mr Blundred did not hesitate to stop and offer help, despite it meaning he missed a family member’s funeral.

He used his tipper to collect sand and filled bags to protect homes from further flood damage.

He then visited again the following day to offer help with any clean up needed.

George is nine and has been described by his bravery award nominator as a “super hero”.

He has been diagnosed with a congenital heart condition and has been regularly visiting the children’s hospital.

Although school can be difficult, he has consistently tried his best and approaches life head-on with a smile.

His loved ones say he has a great sense of humour, and loves playing pranks.

Cov Cloth, winner of the green award, was set up by Adele Harrison to combat textile waste in the city.

She runs workshops with young people and adults using clothes and materials that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.

Cov Cloth is a non-profit organisation run from Ms Harrison’s home, although she also visits local schools.

She works with all ages including elderly people who want to get involved in sewing and creating, and children aged 14-18.

She works with scrap artists and local community groups to produce workshops, and believes in doing good in the city while sharing her skills and knowledge.

Ruby Welsford is the winner for her work in the animal category.

Ms Welsford was born with cerebral palsy and is autistic, and has a lifelong love of dogs which led her to become a dog trainer.

Her dog Betsy has become her assistance dog and, knowing the difference it made having a furry companion, she began supporting disabled and neurodiverse people to train their dogs to become assistance animals.

She mainly trains in Leamington and set up Infinity Dogs Community Interest Company last year.

The dogs are all trained to a national standard expected of an assistance dog, and her work has been described as life changing for those she has worked with.

One young woman Ms Welsford helped had not left the house in three years before she got involved.

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