Donna-Marie Inwood has devoted their life to empowering people in the communities she lives and works in. As a volunteer and Chair at LeeCliffe Big Local, a residents-led partnership in Borehamwood, she has helped turn the areas into a thriving community. To celebrate her achievements Donna has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community.

For the last 14 years, Donna has given her time as Chair of LeeCliffe Big Local. Over this period, she has led projects to bring people in the community together and to support children and young people in the local area. Under her leadership, several youth projects are providing safe spaces for young people to socialise, take part in sporting activities and learn about topics like knife crime, gangs and anti-social behaviour. This includes the Friday Night Project at Hertswood Academy, where 130 young people gather each week and learn from professional sporting coaches.

Donna’s mantra is that the mental health and wellbeing of children is vital. She put this into practice through initiating a programme in three local primary schools for children to benefit from talking therapies. The small therapy groups have given over 100 children the opportunity to find ways to improve their mental health and explore their emotional need.

Rachel Rowney, CEO at Local Trust said:

“A big congratulations to Donna on her award. Donna should be rightly proud of the difference she has made to the community in LeeCliffe. The area was one of the first Big Locals I visited back in 2013. Throughout the last 13 years the partnership has led multiple engagement events, through which key priorities emerged including tackling isolation and loneliness, supporting families, children, and young people, and enhancing health and wellbeing, and improving the physical environment. Donna has been crucial to this and through organising BMX-ing activities she has created something that brings the whole community together.”

Commenting on her award Donna-Marie Inwood BEM said:

“I am deeply honoured to receive this award, but it truly belongs to the whole Leecliffe community. Serving as Chair of Big Local for the past 14 years has been a privilege. Everything we achieved was driven by residents working together, supporting one another and believing in what our community could become.”

Find out more about the difference Donna is making here.