East Kent Mind’s Karen Brinkman wins prestigious BBC award
Karen Brinkman holding her award trophy with East Kent Mind Development Lead Simon Dolby
East Kent Mind’s Veteran’s Project lead Karen Brinkman has won a prestigious award at the BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Awards.
Karen won the ‘Morning Live Make a Difference Community Award’ for her work as East Kent Mind’s Armed Forces Connector, a role in which she supports the wellbeing of veterans, reservists and the adult family members of the armed forces.
Karen Brinkman was recognised by the judging panel for taking a leading role in supporting ex-military in east Kent who are suffering from anxiety, depression, social isolation and alcohol and drug dependencies.
The ceremony was held at the Smithery in Chatham on Wednesday 4th September and saw eight community champions from across Kent being championed by the BBC for their exceptional work.
The BBC Radio Kent Make a Difference Awards celebrates local heroes who give their time to improve their communities. It was set up in 2020 at the start of the first coronavirus lockdown.
The Morning Live Make a Difference Community Award is awarded to an individual or group of people who have helped to genuinely change the lives of others within their community, and Karen Brinkman scooped the award for her work with East Kent Mind.
Karen said: “I was shocked to have just been nominated for the Community Award, but to win it was an amazing feeling. It gives me the drive to make a difference to all those people who may want to volunteer in the future.
“Winning the award is a huge personal honour, but it’s also a win for the entire veteran community I work with. The highlight of my night was being escorted by two of the very first veterans I met, David Murray, ex-Royal Engineer and Kevin Hobbs, musician for the Royal Engineers and the Irish Guards, whose unwavering support has been amazing.”
In her role as Armed Forces Connector, Karen also created the Thanet Female Veterans Group and talking about the group, she said: “I’m incredibly proud that it brings women veterans together to form new friendships, allows them to access any support they need, and helps to combat social isolation. Seeing how the group has grown and how it is positively impacting lives has been the most rewarding experience.”
For the third year running, the Make a Difference awards received a record number of entries celebrating people doing extraordinary things in their communities. BBC’s controller of local audio commissioning Chris Burns said the awards “celebrate the good things that happen with our communities and it’s great to see that every year we see more and more nominations”.
To read more about the East Kent Mind Veteran’s project, please click here
