Awards honour those who have made a difference

A volunteer described as bringing "tolerance, inclusion and dignity" to people has won a BBC Make a Difference Award.

Jessie Coburn, from Brandon, was presented with the BBC Suffolk Volunteer Award at a ceremony in the Jerwood Dancehouse, Ipswich, on Wednesday.

It recognised the huge contribution she makes at the St Peter's Centre in Brandon, organising a community meal for people who are homeless or isolated and leading Suffolk Pride.

Coburn, who moved to Suffolk from Bristol three years ago, said: "I really struggled just finding my people and finding where I fit... so I guess my goal is to help people do that now."

Speaking on stage having been revealed as the winner, Coburn told the audience: "I just love people.

"I haven't really had the easiest life and I think if you can bring a little bit of sparkle to every day, a smile, that's the most important thing to me."

Judge Courtney Hessey, who started as a volunteer and is now a paid youth support worker at Level Two in Felixstowe, said: "Helping our most vulnerable communities can be a tiring, thankless and, more often than not, a bigger job than others see."

The 2026 BBC Suffolk Make a Difference Awards Winners:

• Active Award - Morten Men Group CIC
• Animal Award - Yvette Hart, who runs Wags on Water
• Community Award - Hadleigh Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub
• Environmental Award - ActivGardens
• Fundraiser Award - Megan Boxhall
• Great Neighbour Award - Cait O'Reilly
• Volunteer Award - Jessie Coburn

A special Young Hero trophy was given to nine-year-old Poppy, who lives near Eye, for her work raising awareness and funds for people with epilepsy.

Nominations for the awards came from BBC Suffolk listeners in February and March.

The entries were initially judged by a panel, who selected four finalists in each category.

A winner was then selected by an individual second round judge for each award.

Rick Wakeman, former member of Yes, judged the animal category, and said: "I changed my mind three times doing it, it was so hard."

In the end he chose Yvette Hart, adding: "Nothing seems to get in the way of her love for animals, and the animals certainly know it too."

First round judge Tim Fenton, former director of journalism at the University of Essex, said: "It's only when you do something like this that you realise what a depth of hard work, volunteering effort goes into a place like Suffolk.

"What really impresses me particularly are the people who stick with things, things that take a lot of effort, a lot of time, year after year they do it.

"I think they really do deserve some recognition."

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