June 2007

The four winners of the Social Change Awards were announced at Charityfair, Westminster Central Hall, London on Wednesday 6 June at a special ceremony attended by Ed Miliband, Minister for the Third Sector, and many representatives from the voluntary sector. The Awards recognise the efforts of people across all sectors of society who work hard to create positive social change.

Members of the public had been invited to vote for the winners from a shortlist of 12 in an online vote. Over 3,000 votes were received. The 12 shortlisted finalists attended but did not know in advance who had won. Winners and runners up were presented with an original cartoon depicting their organisation’s activities. Ed Miliband presented the Award for the first category, the Everyday Impact Award.


The results were:

Everyday Impact Award – Winner: Gill Pirt, Sengwer Aid
Gill, from Goole, in East Yorkshire, set up Sengwer Aid after living with the tribe: a poor, landless people who had suffered discrimination. Small grants are provided to locals for cooperative businesses and community support. The charity's success is down to Gill's inspiring leadership and passion.

Influencer Award – Winner: Fairtrade Foundation
Engaging customer buying power through the Fairtrade mark, the Foundation ensures a sustainable lifestyle for farmers and workers in the developing world. With an average 40-50% increase annually in sales, over 5 million people worldwide now benefit from Fairtrade every year.

Investing in Social Change Award – Winner: npower Health through Warmth
To combat excess winter deaths and assist at-risk community members HTW
educates key workers about the dangers of cold, damp living conditions. HTW then source monies from participating organisations, often match-funded by npower, to install heating and insulation measures.

Public Body Award – Winner: University of Cambridge Science Festival
The Festival encourages the general public, particularly young people, to take an interest in science and its application in society. The aim is to not only get people involved in the festival but to spark long-term interest and encourage more pupils to study science.


‘We were thrilled with the number and quality of applications across all the categories,’ said Graham Leigh, DSC Director of Development. ‘The ceremony was upbeat and fun and it was great to see a list of winners who weren’t the usual suspects. We hope the stories of their fantastic work will inspire even more people to follow their examples.

We are definitely running the Awards again next year and look forward to an even bigger pile of applications.’