Simply the Best: Belong Champions Revealed at Awards

As awards season gets underway with Oscars, BAFTAs, and Grammys making for many a headline, social care’s top talent has joined the party with its own glittering celebration – the annual Champion Awards hosted by leading dementia specialist, Belong, has celebrated the best amongst its teams, crowning four winners from its Wigan teams in the process.

From the home care team, Belong at Home Wigan community support worker, Laura Picton took home the Care from the Heart – Compassion Award, with the panel impressed with her work making customers’ lives ‘fantastic’.

Judges proclaimed themselves as being ‘blown away’ by nurse associate, Elaine Cooke, winner of Be Your Best – Mentor of the Year award, sharing all the learnings and research from her continuing professional development with colleagues and university peers.

For the End-of-Life-Care award, support worker, Nicola Davies emerged victorious in a strong category for her ‘special, warm and loving acts’ for older people at the end of their lives, with judges describing her as one in a million.

Finally, bringing together local people outside of the villages along with its residents for its activities saw the Belong Wigan Experience Team take away the Community Engagement Award. Whilst trips to garden centres, community hubs, and the pub are popular, excursions to safari parks, canal tours, and even Blackpool Tower have made them legendary.

After receiving nominations from the organisation’s customers, relatives and colleagues, a panel of independent judges determined winners from a final shortlist, with the results revealed at an evening gala at Manchester Hall. All were presented with a handmade ceramic trophy, designed by Belong Wigan customer, Brian Cherrington, as part of a creative competition for the occasion.

Speaking of the event, Belong’s chief executive, Martin Rix, said: “Once again, our Belong Champion Awards have shone a spotlight on the incredible work happening day in, day out, across our villages and home care teams. t’s especially important to us to have our customers at the heart of everything we do, and they’ve embraced the opportunity to thank our dedicated colleagues.

“It really is people who ultimately create culture and make our organisation such a great place to live and work. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners.” The Belong Champion Awards 2025 was made possible thanks to sponsors: Allmanhall, boxxe, Browne Jacobson, carehome.co.uk, GHM Care, Lorne Stewart Facilities, Manchester Evening News, SB Waste, Search, Triangle PR.

More information about Belong Wigan and Belong at Home Wigan can be found at www.belong.org.uk or by emailing enquiries@belong.org.uk

Pictured: Belong Wigan and Belong at Home Wigan colleagues celebrate their success at the dementia specialist's annual Champion Awards

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