Unsung heroes and local champions who go above and beyond for their communities are to be celebrated at a special awards night.
BBC local radio will celebrate people in the community with their 2023 Make A Difference Awards (MADA), now in its fourth year. They will honour great neighbours, super carers, and awesome volunteers for everyday acts of kindness where they live.
Now, Radio Merseyside is calling for individuals, neighbourhood or community groups to be nominated for an award, asking people to tell them how nominees have positively impacted their communities over the past year. Nominations close on Sunday, 5 March at 11pm.
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Controller of local audio commissioning for BBC England Chris Burns told the ECHO: "I am really pleased we will once again be celebrating the good things that people are doing where they live. Our audiences have faced tough times over the past few years and have contacted us to share their stories of how people are helping each other.
"It’s great that we can celebrate these unsung heroes.”
There are eight categories you can make a nomination in Volunteer, Community Groups, Fundraiser, Carer, Great Neighbour, Bravery, The Green Award and The Together Award. ‘Make A Difference’ was established by the BBC days after the first lockdown was announced in 2020, but this will be BBC Merseyside's second award having held the first in 2022.
Last year BBC Merseyside received hundreds of nominations across the categories.
Last year's awards were held at the scenic Palm House in Sefton Park and hosted by BBC Radio Merseyside presenters Sean Styles and Paul Salt. This year's event for local BBC radio will be held at a venue yet to be decided and all award ceremonies will take place across England from September 2023.
A panel of external judges and BBC representatives for each radio station area will select a shortlist of four finalists per category from the nominations in that region. Another judge in each region and for each category will select a winner from the four finalists in that region and category, producing over 300 winners.
One of the judges from last year Saba Ahmed who works for L8 A Better Place in Toxteth said: "It's really important for people's hard work to be recognised. It gives them the recognition they deserve as well as the platform to partner up with other community mobilisers locally and nationally."
For information on how you can nominate, including rules and conditions visit BBC Make A Difference HERE
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