Heroes championed at BBC Make a Difference Awards

A 10-year-old girl who created a kindness campaign after being bullied was among the winners at an award ceremony celebrating local heroes.

The BBC Radio Oxford Make a Difference Awards had eight categories, recognising those who love to make life better for others in the county.

To date, millions of people have been involved in Make a Difference across BBC radio stations.

Winners for Oxfordshire were crowned by a panel of judges and received their awards at a ceremony at the University of Oxford's Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities on Tuesday evening.

Mila has turned her own difficult experiences, including bullying and supporting her disabled mum, into a mission to help others.

At just 10 years old she created the "Kindness is Power" campaign, raises money for charity, and buys gifts for children in hospital using her own money.

Mila said she started the campaign because she was bullied from 2023 to 2024, which resulted in her leaving school and becoming homeschooled.

She said she wanted to "inspire" anyone else who had been getting bullied.

Jenna Jones said in just a year the volunteers at One Wish Dog Foundation had rescued and rehomed 45 dogs.

They respond to emergencies, rehabilitate neglected animals, and provide temporary care to help keep pets with owners experiencing difficult circumstances.

She said: "It's incredible what this team has been able to achieve.

"I'm so proud of everyone."

After an attack at work left him in a coma with a life-changing head injury, Ryan Goodenough created His Mind FC to turn his experience into something positive.

Through football, he gives boys and young men a safe space to connect, build confidence and talk openly about their mental health.

Goodenough said it was "surreal" to win the award.

"It is about them [the boys and young men] – we've had this football team, alongside the other work I do, for three years now and in that time we've had three boys in particular who have stuck with us from match day one three years ago to now... they've done amazing," he said.

Jo Doherty, who joined the ceremony via Facetime, has volunteered with Age UK Oxfordshire's Phone Friends service for 26 years, providing companionship to older people experiencing loneliness and isolation.

Despite being housebound and managing her own health difficulties, she continues to call six people every week and says she will volunteer for as long as she can.

Paula Donaldson, who collected the award on behalf of Doherty, said she was making a "huge difference to people who cannot leave their homes".

"She is amazing," she added.

Laura Kenyon-Slaney has spent almost a decade supporting children's literacy through Schoolreaders, a charity that matches volunteers to UK primary schools where they give free one-to-one reading support to children.

She has raised nearly £250,000 for the charity and has personally helped almost 3,000 children improve their reading, confidence and love of books.

After collecting her award, Kenyon-Slaney said: "Having seen all those other amazing stories, I'm even more overwhelmed.

"Because I haven't run up mountains, I just give my time to children because I see the difference it makes."

The Earth Trust Volunteer Community has contributed more than 21,000 hours to protecting over 500 hectares of Oxfordshire's natural environment.

Their work includes creating chalk grassland, planting hedgerows, monitoring wildlife and helping thousands of people connect with nature.

Nicola Frost said she was "incredibly proud" of the volunteers.

"When I started at EarthTrust seven years ago, there was about 50 volunteers," she said.

"We're now about 300 strong and they help with land management, they help with conservation, habitat management, but also with our education programme that's gone from strength to strength."

Sharon Darke and Suzie Stubbs created Footprints following their own experiences of losing twin babies.

The charity provides specialist support and counselling to parents and families affected by the loss of twins or triplets, ensuring that mothers, fathers and their wider families do not face their grief alone.

Darke said: "Our community is a community that no one really wants to be in, but what we wanted to do when we started the charity was make a safe space where people could talk about their twins and triplets, share their photos, be with people that understand.

"I think for our community I'm just really pleased that we can go back and say that we've won this award."

Kerry Mellor said she was "shocked, emotional" and "very happy" to have won the award.

She began making Christmas hampers during the pandemic to support people experiencing financial hardship, bereavement or loneliness.

What started with a few friends has grown into a team of around 30 volunteers, delivering approximately 450 hampers through schools, churches and community networks in 2025.