2025 Award Winners
On 29th April 2025, the Sigmund Sternberg Charitable Foundation hosted the annual Times Sternberg Active Life Awards, in the Stateroom at 11 Downing Street with the kind permission of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Jeremy Griffin, Executive Editor of the Times, spoke in honour of The Awards and Baroness Ros Altmann CBE presented the prizes to the winners, which were provided by the Sternberg Trustees.
This year, the overall winner was Dr Denis Durno MBE. In 1999, he was asked to support the creation of a bakery and coffee shop in Aberdeen to provide meaningful work for adults with learning disabilities. When the original founders stepped away, he took full leadership, founding The Bread Maker in 2006. His efforts secured a property, raised over £1 million, and created a thriving social enterprise, offering apprenticeships and skills training. The Bread Maker has since supported over 200 individuals, improving their physical and mental well-being while fostering independence.
Congratulations to all the worthy winners!
Runner up winners were...
Roey Burden set up the Coroners Court Support Service. From their start with just 2 volunteers (she was one of them!) in the Westminster Coroner's Court, she continued to work tirelessly to extend the service throughout the country and now they have 370 volunteers (plus 45 in training at time of writing!) in 49 courts covering 44 coronial areas.
Dr Ben Essex trained to become a volunteer providing legal advice and support for parents trying to get assessments, and special provisions for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This included providing Tribunal support when challenging the legality of local authority decisions not to assess a child, or to refuse the special provisions experts recommended. This work was done through a charity, the Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice (IPSEA). He was also a Trustee on the Board of this charity from 2016 – 2022.
Sarah Hosking was nominated for her extraordinary dedication to supporting women writers and artists. Over two decades ago, she established the Hosking Houses Trust to create a unique residency program for women over 40. This initiative provides a peaceful retreat in a Warwickshire village, allowing residents to focus on their creative work without external obligations. Since its inception, the Trust has expanded, offering bursaries and, more recently, acquiring a second cottage to support more artists.
Ivan Lyons created Joe’s Buddy Line as a legacy to his son Joe who died by suicide. It aims to promote and protect the mental health of young people, from Primary school to University by offering workshops run by mental health professionals and other initiatives.
Judith Potts founded Esme’s Umbrella, the only charity dedicated to raising awareness of Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Judith continues her full-time, unpaid work. She speaks at conferences, runs events, contributes to Webinars, raises funds and writes extensively about the subject
Photo credits: acumennimages