The British Citizen Award (BCA) has been introduced to recognise ‘extraordinary people from across the country who have a commitment to improving lives of others. Its intention is to honour those who are recognised to be ‘shining a light of positivity in the community’.
This month, 28th July, marks ten years since Oa was diagnosed with breast cancer and on Thursday 25th July Oa was among 26 exceptional individuals honoured with the esteemed British Citizen Award (BCA) at the Palace of Westminster. Oa received the coveted BCA Medal of Honour for Services to Healthcare (BCAh). The presentation, hosted by TV presenter Matt Allwright, was attended by BCA Patrons Dame Mary Perkins, Founder of Specsavers, and The Rt Hon Lord Dholakia. Following the ceremony and delicious afternoon tea, medalists enjoyed an Open Top Lap of Honour tour and a certificate presentation at another Westminster venue, Church House. Oa attended the event with her husband (Greg), sister (Lilly) and Trustee (Ella).
“When Oa set up Little Lifts 7 years ago her intention was always to create a space where anyone who came into contact with this very special charity would feel cared for and supported with emotional well-being coming before anything else. With over 21,000 thoughtfully curated Little Lifts Boxes having already been distributed to breast cancer patients across the UK the success of Little Lifts is tangible. But Oa’s vision of ‘community’ always extended far beyond the beneficiaries of the Little Lifts Boxes; she wanted to set up an organisation that did things differently in the community for its employees, volunteers and everyone who supports or benefits from the work of this ‘small but mighty’ charity.
The BCA endorses all the hard work, dedication, and commitment that Oa has consistently demonstrated in ensuring Little Lifts continues to go from strength to strength. She is both humbled and proud to have been granted this award and of course, as she always does, adds that she couldn’t have achieved all that Little Lifts has become without the loyal and inspirational team who work alongside her. I know that all of the Little Lifts team, our Trustees, volunteers, beneficiaries, hospital partnerships will want to say ‘This is truly well deserved – with love from your Little Lifts community”.
“This month is a special one for me because it marks ten years since I was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 28. Getting breast cancer so young was tough, but the kindness I received fuelled my recovery and inspired me to create Little Lifts. Whilst recovering from treatment, I took to Google and typed ‘how to set up a charity.’ A few months later, along with my Trustees, we officially registered Little Lifts.
Things moved quickly after that, thanks to support from Art for Cure, who donated enough funds to allow us to launch our first hospital partnership at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. We gave out 256 Little Lifts Boxes in our first year. Within 18 months, we welcomed four more hospitals to the family and moved into our HQ at Bowthorpe Hall. We now have ten NHS hospital partnerships in the East of England, and our work reaches every corner of the UK, thanks to Spacemasks, who helped us launch The Little Kindness Fund.
At the time of writing this, over 21,000 Boxes have been distributed across our ten NHS partnerships and nationally via The Little Kindness Fund – a huge achievement my small team are super proud of. We have hosted 15 focus groups and, in response to feedback, will be launching a series of Community Clubs throughout 2024, along with our first-ever retreat for women with secondary breast cancer.
In July, I have had the surprise of receiving two awards. The first, Professional Fundraiser of the Year and the second a British Citizen Award. Both very special! I was honoured to attend the Palace of Westminster on July 25th to accept my British Citizen Award for my commitment to healthcare. The afternoon was filled with inspiring stories from people across the country doing important work to support their communities, with kindness being at the very core. Community, celebration, and value-led relationship building is at the essence of what we do, and I am hugely proud of what our small team has achieved so far. This year, we aim to distribute 10,000 Boxes to those undergoing breast cancer treatment. Thank you to our UK-wide Little Lifts community for helping us ensure no one faces breast cancer treatment alone. To my team, Trustees, volunteers and every person, business and funder who engages in fundraising and raising awareness, thank you for wholeheartedly believing in Little Lifts and for sharing my vision.”
If you would like to help us on our mission of supporting every person in the UK receiving treatment for breast cancer check out our get involved page and help make a difference.
We cannot thank you all enough for helping us in our mission to spread support, love and kindness.
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Little Lifts
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Little Lifts is a registered charity in England
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