Social Change Awards winners announced

John Wills of Greenpath Ventures won the lifetime achievement award at the 2017 Social Change Awards last week.

Wills was recognised for his long history of work with local schools and organisations that support adults with mental health issues.

Managing director of Unseen Kate Garbers received the Influencer Award for her work combatting human trafficking, including contributing to the newly enacted Modern Slavery Act and the National Referral Mechanism Review.

The awards, presented by the Directory of Social Change, celebrate and recognise the achievements of social change makers in the voluntary sector. The awards aim to increase public knowledge about the charity sector.

The Great Giving Funders Award was given to the War Memorials Trust for their ability to work in partnership with their beneficiaries, and the prize was collected by its director, Frances Moreton.

The Rising Star Award, presented to people under 26 who have made a major impact in their organisation or community, went to James Curtis, the first ever Young Ambassador of Auditory Verbal UK.

Read the full list of winners and runners up below.

Influencer Award
Kate Garbers - Winner
Nicky Goulder – Runners Up
Becca Bunce- Runners Up

The Great Giving Funders Award
War Memorials Trust – Winner
The Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity – Runners Up
The Patsy Wood Trust – Runners Up

The Lifetime Achievement Award
John Wills - Winner
Jan Tallis – Runners Up
Lynda Fletcher – Runners Up

Rising Star Award
James Curtis – Winner
Will Churchill – runners up
Liam Hackett – runners up

Everyday Impact Award - Long-term
Carousel - Winner
Fixers – Runners Up
In-Kind Direct – Runners Up

Everyday Impact- New Enterprises
Bright Shadow – Winner
Colin Hegarty Maths – Runners Up
MakeLunch – Runners Up

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Charity Times video Q&A: In conversation with Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK
Charity Times editor, Lauren Weymouth, is joined by Dementia UK CEO, Hilda Hayo to discuss why the charity receives such high workplace satisfaction results, what a positive working culture looks like and the importance of lived experience among staff. The pair talk about challenges facing the charity, the impact felt by the pandemic and how it's striving to overcome obstacles and continue to be a highly impactful organisation for anybody affected by dementia.
Charity Times Awards 2023

Mitigating risk and reducing claims
The cost-of-living crisis is impacting charities in a number of ways, including the risks they take. Endsleigh Insurance’s* senior risk management consultant Scott Crichton joins Charity Times to discuss the ramifications of prioritising certain types of risk over others, the financial implications risk can have if not managed properly, and tips for charities to help manage those risks.

* Coming soon… Howden, the new name for Endsleigh.