bpha resident Christine Gibson, is the latest winner of the Prime Minister’s Big Society Award. Not only is Christine the first ever individual to be presented with the award (winners to date are groups or organisations); she is also the first Big Society Award winner from the Bedfordshire area. 

Christine won her award for bringing people in her community together and for working with bpha to make a real difference to her fellow residents.  This was particularly evident last year when Christine worked with a number of other bpha residents to transform a disused area of land in Bents Close, Clapham, into a useful communal garden.

Christine successfully brought her neighbours together and encouraged them to get involved and take a stake in the project, from deciding how they would like to use the land to designing the new space themselves and volunteering to plant the garden.

bpha provided funding for the garden through the Neighbourhood Improvement Budget and Cash for Your Community Schemes, while Councillor Jane Walker also contributed from her Ward fund to help provide some finishing touches.

The end result saw a space where neighbours can relax, take children to play, meet other residents and hold social events, helping to foster a true community spirit.

The Prime Minister congratulated Christine for giving her time to make a difference to her neighbourhood, and her ability to show that one person with energy and motivation can inspire, motivate and empower many others to come together and build a stronger community.