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BBC Make a Difference Awards community champions announced

BBC Radio Berkshire station editor Duncan McLarty at the awardsBBC
The winners were announced at a BBC Make a Difference Awards ceremony at Reading Town Hall

Eight people have been named community champions in a BBC awards scheme.

The winners were announced at a BBC Make a Difference Awards ceremony organised by BBC Radio Berkshire at Reading Town Hall.

The categories ranged from great neighbours and inspirational fundraisers, to thoughtful volunteers and outstanding key workers.

Radio station editor Duncan McLarty said it had been a "huge pleasure to celebrate all their achievements".

"We have been so inspired by the lengths that local people have gone to in supporting their friends, neighbours and communities," he said.

Make a Difference was set up at the start of the first Covid lockdown in March 2020 as a virtual notice board for those able to offer help and those needing support.

Nine million people have interacted with the scheme across all 39 local BBC radio stations.

Chris Burns, head of audio and digital for BBC England, said the awards celebrated people who had "gone above and beyond what most of us expect from people".

She added: "In a world where the news can often be quite bleak, it is a way of showing off the best of people.

"We have really enjoyed hearing their stories and sharing them with our listeners."

The winners were:

  • Annie Hodgson - Volunteers for SPICE in Slough and teaches ice skating to children and young people with additional needs such as autism, Down Syndrome, and cerebral palsy
  • Remap Berkshire MakeAbility - Community group. Twenty eight volunteer engineers in Woolhampton making free gadgets and equipment for people with special needs
  • Ed Smith - Fundraiser Mr Smith, from Newbury, took on several charity challenges since losing his wife to cancer, including the SAS training walk and rowing the Atlantic
  • Caroline Saunders - Care manager at Hillview in Newbury, which provides supported living for adults with learning disabilities
  • Briony Palmer-Reid - Campaigned for safety railings to be put up after a boy drowned in the Kennet and Avon Canal
  • Laura Mackie - Key worker. Lead bereavement midwife at Basingstoke hospital
  • Freely Fruity - Environmental Award. Based in Winnersh supplying local grown fruit and veg for those in need
  • Sarah O'Neill and Rachel Walker - The Together Award. Ms O'Neill and Ms Walker run Helping Hand in Shinfield, worked in a pop-up food bank, and launched surplus food project SHARE Shinfield
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