More than 35 Kent charities celebrated at the Gala awards evening!
In a glittering ceremony held at the Corn Exchange in Rochester, charities from across Kent gathered to celebrate the 9th Kent Charity Awards. The event, which took place on Thursday, September 5, 2024, recognised the outstanding achievements of charities, volunteers, and trustees from all corners of Kent.
The Kent Charity Awards serve as a platform to celebrate the tireless efforts of charities and their volunteers, highlighting the significant impact they have on the community. This year’s event was a testament to the resilience, dedication, and innovation of Kent’s charitable sector.
The winner!
Among the remarkable organisations present, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services (ADSS), a Northfleet-based charity dedicated to supporting individuals living with dementia in Kent and Medway, emerged as the night’s big winner acknowledged with three prestigious awards: the 2024 Kent Charity of the Year and the Disability Charity of the Year.
Adding to the evening’s accolades, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services Trustee, Samuel Barton, was honoured with the Trustee of the Year award, marking a well-deserved hat-trick of awards for the charity.
Katie Antil, CEO of ADSS said, “We are thrilled to receive these honours from the Kent Charity Awards. This recognition is a testament to the enormous dedication, commitment and passion of the entire ADSS team.
Our mission is that everyone living with dementia in Kent gets the support they need to live the life they want. This recognition from the Kent Charity Awards helps to raise awareness of dementia and reach even more people.”
Susan Robinson, Head Judge said of this year’s Awards: “The Kent Charity Awards is an opportunity for charities to shout about what they are doing and in turn be recognised for their hard work and contribution to the Kent community. Standards were very high again this year making our decisions very challenging. We are in awe of what has been achieved on often reduced funding.”
Judges’ Special Award
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness (FASD) Charity won a Judges’ Special Recognition Award for their work in supporting the implementation of the new FASD NICE quality standards.
On winning this prestigious award, founder Tracy Allen said, “On behalf of FASD Awareness and our growing FASD community, I would like to say a big thank you to Kent Charity Awards, in recognising our efforts to raise awareness of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) within the general population.
FASD is the most common cause of Neurodisability in the Western world and presents around 3-6 times the rate of autism spectrum disorder in the UK. There are more children born each year with FASD than with ASD, Spina Bifida, Cerebral
Palsy, Down Syndrome and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) combined, and yet the condition often remains hidden or misunderstood by the wider population.
This award will help us shine a light on our #BeAware Campaign, and we hope it will also encourage others to engage and collaborate with us, to enable a wider understanding of what FASD is and how it can be avoided.”
The 2024 winners
Kent Charity of the Year: Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services
Trustee of the Year: Samuel Barton – Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services
Volunteer of the Year: Michael Lowrey – The Young Lives Foundation
Best use of Volunteers: Nourish Community Foodbank
Disability Charity of the Year: Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services
Mental Health Charity of the Year: The Young Lives Foundation
Large Charity of the Year: Porchlight
Community Charity of the Year: The Halpern Charitable Foundation/Nucleus Arts
Children’s Charity of the Year: We Are Beams
Animal & Environment Charity of the Year: The Big Cat Sanctuary
Care Charity of the Year: Sateda
Start-Up Charity of the Year: Keep Talking Services
Fundraising Award of the Year: Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex
Special Judges’ Award: FASD Awareness
Sarah MacDonald, Co-Founder and organiser of the KCAs, expressed her ongoing emotional connection to the gala evening, stating that witnessing over 30 charities and individuals networking and celebrating their collective successes in a single room is truly incredible. She expressed her hope that the awards will continue for many years to come.
The event could only take place because of the support of its sponsors – Kent Charity Awards sponsors, for without their support these awards would not be possible; thank you Kreston Reeves, Medway Council, The KM Media Group, Kent Community Foundation, CAF Bank, AMEY, Brachers, and Financial Advice and Services.
The Kent Charity Awards are the perfect opportunity to put your organisation in front of thousands of businesses and charities. If you would like to find out how you can be part of the sponsorship team please contact Sarah MacDonald at info@kentcharityawards.com
Entries for the 2025 awards will be announced in February 2025 www.kentcharityawards.com .
For more information contact
Sarah MacDonald – 07786 261934