Make a Difference: Awards launch for Sussex and Surrey champions

The winners from last year's Make a Difference awards at the ceremony in East Grinstead

A BBC award scheme honouring community champions has opened for nominations.

The BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey Make a Difference Awards celebrate local heroes who give their time to improve their communities.

It was set up in 2020 at the start of the first coronavirus lockdown.

Listeners to BBC local radio and members of the public will also be able to nominate and vote for animals that have had a positive impact in their communities.

The new category is also open to those who work with animals to improve animal welfare.

Chris Burns, controller local audio commissioning for BBC England, said: "We are a nation of animal lovers and our listeners often contact us with stories of what their pets mean to them and how they are offering supporting them. So we thought what better way to celebrate these achievements than with their own category at our Make A Difference Awards."

• Make a Difference Awards - how to nominate

• A quick guide to the Make a Difference Awards

• The best of the Make a Difference Awards

Previous winners in Sussex and Surrey include volunteers who support 999 teams and sixth formers who befriended a teenage refugee from Afghanistan.

The eight award categories for 2024 are:

• Volunteer - Awarded to an individual who makes a notable difference to their community by giving their time voluntarily to help others

• Community - The Morning Live Make a Difference Community Award is awarded to an individual or group of people who have helped to genuinely change the lives of others within their community

• Fundraiser - Awarded to an individual or group of people who have gone the extra mile to raise funds for a good cause

• Carer - Awarded to someone who improves the life of an individual or group of people through their helpfulness, compassion and support

• Great Neighbour - Awarded to an individual who helps to make the neighbourhood a better place to live or work, either on a regular basis or through a single act of kindness

• Bravery - Awarded to an individual or group of people who has shown outstanding courage, defiance and duty in the face of perceived danger, fear or difficulty

• The Green Award - Awarded to an individual or group of people who make where live a better place by caring for the environment and nature

• The Animal Award - Awarded to an animal that improves the life of an individual or group of people. Or, a person or group of people working with animals to improve animal welfare

Nominations close on Sunday 10 March at 11:00 GMT.

Winners will be announced at Make a Difference Award ceremonies hosted by local BBC radio stations up and down the country in September.

Ms Burns added: "Our local BBC radio stations hear amazing accounts every day from our listeners about the incredible work that goes on in their community. Many have faced tough times recently, so I am delighted that we will be honouring our local unsung heroes once again. It's those individuals that make where we live so special."

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