On Thursday 26th January at the Palace of Westminster 29 individuals from around the UK were awarded the prestigious British Citizen Award for their exceptional endeavours which have positively impacted communities up and down the country.
The British Citizen Award in partnership with One Stop, is now in its ninth year and recognises an elite group of exceptional individuals in January and July each year. The January 2023 cohort of medallists have collectively been responsible for over £7.25m in fundraising, have impacted over 272,000 individuals, and have been committed to their chosen causes for over 395 years. Each person selected to receive the BCA Medal of Honour as a legacy for their achievements, richly deserves the right to use the letters BCA after their name in perpetual recognition of the nation’s gratitude.
Among the 29 honoured was Dani Stephenson from London, who received the BCA for Services to the Community. Dani was presented with his Medal of Honour by Liam Sargeant, Senior Company Communications Manager, from supporters P&G and TV presenter and Patron of the BCA, Nick Knowles, who hosted the event.
Dani was raised in a deprived council estate in a low-income household by a single parent. The struggles he experienced in life became a key motivation to become socially responsible and to give back to society. This led to the creation of his charitable non-profit, Straight Forward Giving, which believes every young person should have the chance to change their life through music, yet research shows that many can’t, because of who they are, where they are from or what they are going through. Dani aims to change that.
Dani’s commitment to supporting communities began at 16, when he started volunteering at the Tovil Quality of Life community house project in Kent. It acted as the cornerstone of Tovil, supporting residents to improve their quality of life across all areas. Since then, Dani has taken an active role in volunteering for various charities including United Nations and Prince’s Trust, whilst creating his own initiatives to help mentor the next generation of aspiring youth.
During the COVID-19 pandemic Dani kept his recording facilities open to continue mentoring, whilst launching a new initiative called ‘ComUnity’, an online educational programme which provides communities with free access to educational courses.
Immediately following the formal presentations, the medallists and their families boarded an open top bus for the Lap of Honour Tour courtesy of Big Bus London. After taking in some of the iconic sights of the capital they disembarked at Church House in Westminster for a Certificate of Honour presentation. The certificates, presented by representatives from One Stop, Specsavers, Places for People, P&G, completed the official BCA proceedings. Each of the organisations associated with the BCA reflects the community spirit and care for the community that the medallists are recognised for.
The British Citizen Award was established in 2015 to recognise exceptional individuals who work tirelessly and selflessly to make a positive impact on their communities and society. The BCA recognises true community heroes who would otherwise likely be overlooked. Dubbed ‘The People’s Honours’, the BCA has so far recognised over 450 exceptional individuals for their divergent endeavours, making them a very exclusive group of the nation’s favourites.
Anyone with an MBE, OBE or Knighthood is ineligible for a BCA having already been deemed to have received recognition, however, anyone receiving the BCA can still be nominated for the other honours. Nominations can be made a www.britishcitizenawards.co.uk
