Meet the Winners

Richard and his wife - both long standing volunteers at Fulwell Community Library - created comprehensive Covid support plans to help those in need within their local community. At the beginning of lockdown, they both fell seriously ill with the virus and Richard lost his wife to Covid. Despite his loss, he continued to lead the team of volunteers at Fulwell Community Library - the heart of the local community - determined to deliver the Covid support the couple had planned together.

MD Mominul Hamid - an asylum seeker, studying Law in a Scholarship at Northumbria University - set up MD's Little help Food Bank at the beginning of the pandemic. Alongside other volunteers, MD delivered essentials on his bike to vulnerable asylum seekers across the West End of Newcastle throughout lockdown. Today he continues to volunteer at Covid vaccination clinics and play an instrumental role in encouraging others from the refugee and asylum seeker community, and the Bangladeshi community, to get vaccinated. He is a truly inspirational community champion who has and continues to give so much to communities right across Newcastle.

A pub landlord at Perth Avenue’s, Red Hackle, Lee was forced to close the doors in March 2020. Overnight he went from pulling pints to preparing home-cooked meals and delivering them to vulnerable residents in his local community - all free of charge. When a local food bank needed premises, Lee welcomed the volunteers to use his pub as their base. Despite the challenges his business faced he was committed to ensuring he could do all he could to continue to support his local community.

At the beginning of lockdown, the mum of two created a Facebook Covid support group for the four villages around Ellington. The group is still running today and has over 700 members. With Kischa at its engine, the group shared local and Covid updates, initiated psychological and home education support as well as delivering shopping and food parcels to vulnerable residents by joining up with existing local initiatives.