Last chance for Make a Difference Awards nominations

It is the last chance to nominate people and organisations for this year's BBC Radio WM Make a Difference Awards.

The awards recognise ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their community.

Categories include The Volunteer Award, the Green Award and the Community Group Award, given to those who have changed the lives of others in their community.

New categories for 2025 are the Active Award, for those who have used sport as a way of improving the lives of others in their community and the Young Hero Award, for someone under 16 who has made a positive impact.

This year, judges include Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and Strictly Come Dancing's Lauren Oakley.

Last year, Ben Newman, aka Spudman, won the community award for his work promoting and supporting the community of Tamworth. This year the TikTok star will be back as a judge.

Former BBC Radio WM presenter Richie Anderson, now on Radio 2, will return as a judge this year along with BBC Midlands Today legend Nick Owen.

The full list of categories this year is:

• The Volunteer Award, is awarded to an individual who makes a notable difference to their community by giving their time voluntarily to help others.
• The Young Hero Award, will be awarded to someone under 16 who has made a positive impact in their community or achieved something exceptional.
• The Great Neighbour Award, is awarded to an individual who helps to make the neighbourhood a better place to live or work in, either on a regular basis or through a single act of kindness.
• The Active Award, awarded to an individual or group of people who have used physical activity or sport as a way of improving the lives of those in their community.
• The Animal Award, is awarded to either a remarkable animal that improves people's lives or an individual or group of people who improve the welfare of animals.
• The Green Award, which is awarded to an individual or group of people who improve or conserve their local environment.
• The Fundraiser Award, is awarded to an individual or group of people who have gone the extra mile to raise funds for a good cause.
• The Community Group Award is awarded to a group of people who have helped to change the lives of others within their community.

For details of how to nominate someone, go to the Make a Difference webpage, where you can also see full terms and our privacy notice.

Nominations are open now and close on 31 March at 17:00 BST.

The winners will be announced at our Make a Difference Awards ceremony at the Birmingham Hippodrome in September.

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