{"id":12821,"date":"2022-08-22T16:42:16","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T15:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=12821"},"modified":"2023-10-02T14:16:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T13:16:04","slug":"sense-awards-your-nominations-are-powerful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/sense-awards-your-nominations-are-powerful\/","title":{"rendered":"Sense Awards: Your nominations are powerful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our annual award ceremony is just around the corner \u2013 you\u2019ve got one more week to nominate the outstanding people in your life<\/a>! On 24 November, Sense will announce the winners and, together, we\u2019ll celebrate all that they\u2019ve achieved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of last year\u2019s winners, telling us just how much your recognition means to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praising every ability, with Ben Carpenter <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ben was nominated for \u2018Family Carer of the Year\u2019 <\/strong>\u2013 and he won!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Ben was just 21 years old, he started the life changing process of growing his family through adoption. After bringing home his first son, he never looked back. Today, Ben is a full-time father to six children, all of whom have complex disabilities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told us that being nominated blew him away: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI am absolutely honoured and humbled that Sense has chosen me to receive this award. Making a difference in children\u2019s lives, who happen to have a disability, is not only a joy but a privilege.\u202fThe thought that other people were seeing my story and might be inspired is wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Read Ben\u2019s full story here, What my children have taught me.<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a shining star in dark days, with Olivia Rudge <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

13 year old Olivia was the winner of the \u2018Young Person of the Year\u2019 <\/strong>award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a young woman with complex disabilities, it was incredibly hard for Olivia when the pandemic shut down her world. Isolated, frustrated and with worsening mobility skills, Olivia found the power to turn things around. Her hard work and key friendship with her Sense Virtual Buddy<\/a> saw her confidence, happiness and development come flooding back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia\u2019s mum, Sam, was overjoyed:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are so proud of Olivia for winning this award. Even though the last 18 months have been very difficult for her, she has managed to come out the other side, still being our happy, smiley little girl and bringing joy and smiles to everyone she meets.\u201d\u202f<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Get to know Olivia more by reading about her Buddying experience. My daughter gained a new best friend during lockdown, thanks to Sense<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believing in the value of every voice, with Eric Griffiths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The brilliant Eric was Sense\u2019s \u2018Person of the Year\u2019<\/strong> in 2021! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eric, age 57, has Usher Syndrome and is deafblind. He\u2019s volunteered and campaigned with Sense for over 37 years, fighting for the experiences of disabled people to be acknowledged. Eric has addressed loneliness and accessibility in his local area, advising the council on ways to improve people\u2019s lives.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric\u2019s award has supported his determination to continue campaigning for change: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWinning this award means the world to me. I hope I can make people sit up and listen to what disabled people\u202fhave to say and make it a more inclusive society.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You can find more on Eric\u2019s story and work here, <\/strong>Why the Covid-19 public inquiry must be accessible.<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representing disability \u2013 in style, with Shelby Lynch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shelby was 2021\u2019s \u2018Influencer of the Year\u2019 <\/strong>\u2013 and she\u2019ll be joining us again this year as one of our judges!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shelby is a disabled model and TikTok content creator. She reaches hundreds of thousands of followers, busting myths and dispelling assumptions about her disability. Shelby has used her platform to fight for inclusivity in fashion and to empower people with disabilities across the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been up against two amazing women that I also look up to, so to have won is absolutely incredible. I\u2019m just so happy and I really hope all the work that I do online about educating people about disabilities is really helping people and I hope I\u2019m really benefitting the disabled community.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Check out Shelby\u2019s TikTok @shelbykinsxo<\/strong><\/a> or watch last year\u2019s BBC coverage, TikTok influencer on dispelling disability myths.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are you waiting for? Get nominating!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nominate someone for a Sense Award<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sense Awards celebrate the achievements of people with complex disabilities. This year will be its 19th year! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our annual award ceremony is just around the corner \u2013 you\u2019ve got one more week to nominate the outstanding people in your life! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":12827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[191],"class_list":["post-12821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-beatrix-allen"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12821"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=12821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}