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BBC 3CR Make a Difference Award winners announced

Tara DolbyBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
News imageBBC A young girl with long blonde hair stood in front of two family photographs. She is wearing a purple top with the logo of the bereavement charity, Stand By MeBBC
Evie Everett, Young Hero award winner, lost her dad Scott when she was four years old

An 11-year-old ambassador for a bereavement charity is one of the winners of BBC Three Counties Radio's Make a Difference Awards 2026.

Evie Everett's dad Scott died when she was four. Evie, her sister and mother were supported by Stand By Me - a charity based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

"I know how it is to lose someone. The charity helped me understand that it's OK to feel everything you feel and I want others to feel supported too," said Evie.

Evie attends events where she shares her experience of grief so that 'others do not feel so alone'.

Rose Forde - the volunteer making Luton safer for young people

News imageA group of five adults wearing stab-proof vests that read either Street Fathers or Street Mothers. One woman is just wearing a T-shirt. A poster on a white wall behind them reads "We Are Marsh Farm Hub".
Street Fathers Luton carries out patrols of the Bedfordshire town

The Volunteer award was presented to the founder of Street Fathers Luton.

Rose Forde started the organisation in May 2025 with the aim of offering a safe space for young people deemed to be at risk of youth violence.

The group, which is made up of volunteers, patrols the town every week.

"I felt something needed to be done," said the 69-year-old.

"My own children had the benefit of a much safer environment when they were young, and it's down to all of us to make a difference."

The running club that helps fight addiction

News imageA group of runners - some are wearing blue running shirts which have the words "RECOVERY RUNNERS" in a purple band across the chest.
The Recovery Runners Aylesbury

The founder of a running club in Aylesbury took home the Active award. The group offers support to those with addiction, anxiety or injury problems.

Wayne Martinig, who started Recovery Runners Aylesbury, says it has helped him with his own addiction issues and he has been clean from drugs for five years.

One of the regular runners, Coleen, 46, said: "I have been one-year sober thanks to Wayne... the support and routine he provides have helped me to recover."

The other winners in pictures:

News imageA smiling woman in a pink dress and glasses sitting on a grey sofa with two small dogs under each arm.
The Animal award was won by Karen Bird who runs Karen's Care Home in Bedfordshire which provides a forever home for dogs with disabilities
News imageA group of adults of mixed ages stood in front of a sign reading Mission Employable, fulfilling lives of people with learning disabilities
Community Group award winners Mission EmployAble aims to improve employment opportunities for young people with learning disabilities in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
News imageMan wearing an apron bearing the words Bedford Repair Cafe. He is sitting behind an electrical item that he is preparing to mend
Bedford Repair Café is a volunteer-led community group which fixes items that may otherwise end up in landfill and it has won the Environmental award
News imageSmiling man wearing a blue sweatshirt and black trousers, stood in front of a large blue tractor
The Fundraiser award went to Richard Hill - the founder of an annual Christmas tractor run which raises money for Garden House Hospice in Letchworth Garden City, in Hertfordshire
News imageA smiling woman wearing an apron, standing in front of a brick building's entrance. Above the arch, it says "Henderson HUB".
Eileen Sexton-Adams runs a community cafe in Abbots Langley, near Watford, organising events to bring people together - and she has won the Great Neighbour award
News imageMan holding a microphone and standing on a stage in front of a theatre audience. Audience members are holding up their mobile phones and using them as torches.
The award show, which returned to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable, was hosted by the BBC Three Counties Radio's breakfast show presenter Andy Collins

The awards, which are in their fifth year, are a celebration of those who go above and beyond for their local communities.

The award ceremony took place on Monday at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable.

Host Andy Collins said: "The Make a Difference awards are a highlight of the year for local radio.

"They really show the best of where we live and I think we all come away feeling grateful for these incredible people."

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