After years of celebrating quiet acts of kindness and extraordinary community spirit, BBC Radio Leicester is excited to announce that nominations are now open for Leicestershire’s unsung heroes.
The station has officially launched submissions for its fifth annual Make a Difference Awards – a programme that began during the darkest days of the Covid pandemic, when stories of neighbours helping neighbours inspired hope. What started as a response to crisis has grown into an annual tradition, recognising the people, groups, and even animals who continue to strengthen communities long after lockdowns ended.
Picture credit: BBC Radio Leicester
Communities Editor Jo Bostock said the awards were created to ensure those acts of generosity did not go unnoticed. During the pandemic, listeners repeatedly contacted the station to share examples of volunteers and grassroots organisations stepping up. As life began to stabilise, the team saw an opportunity not just to report those stories, but to formally honour them.
The campaign was officially launched yesterday (23 February) via The One Show, with nominations now open to anyone wishing to recognise someone who goes “above and beyond”. Entry is free, although individuals cannot nominate themselves, and trustees or founders may not put forward their own organisations.
This year’s awards feature eight categories, with one notable update: the former Green Award has been broadened and renamed the Environment Award. The full list includes Young Hero (under 16), Environment, Volunteer, Great Neighbour, Fundraiser, Active, Community Group and Animal – reflecting the many different ways people make a difference.
Picture credit: BBC Radio Leicester
Organisers stress the focus is firmly on voluntary impact rather than professional achievement. The judges are looking for those who give extra – people whose compassion, initiative or resilience has transformed lives. Previous winners include a Great Neighbour who, following a traumatic incident involving a disabled resident, went on to create wider support networks for young people with disabilities.
Nominations must be submitted through a 250-word statement online. Jo encourages nominators to make those words count, sharing not just achievements but the human story behind them. Emotion and detail, she says, help judges understand the true depth of someone’s contribution.
Accessibility remains central to the process. Translation tools are available for entries in other languages, and voice recordings can be submitted for those who struggle with written forms, ensuring that no story is excluded through language or literacy barriers.
For many finalists, the impact of the awards extends far beyond the ceremony itself. Winners have described feeling part of the “BBC family”, and their achievements are commemorated in a growing BBC Make a Difference Woodland within The National Forest, where trees have been planted in their honour – a living symbol of community roots and resilience.
Judging takes place in two stages, beginning locally before a final panel selects the winners.
Those wishing to put forward a local hero can find full details and submit entries at https://www.bbc.co.uk/makeadifference/awards/
Nominations close at 5pm on March 31st.
