The Child Brain Injury Trust Diamond Awards took place on Friday 4th March at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Oxford. It saw over 250 wonderful guests come together to celebrate some truly inspirational stories. The night was full of love, laughter, admiration and the occasional tear, but a fitting celebration to conclude our 30th anniversary year.

Over the last 30 years, we have had the privilege of being able to support thousands of children, young people and their families to secure a better future. It was a true honour for us to be able to mark that achievement in a room full of our extended family of clinicians, educators, supporters and some of our own very special families. We would not be where we are today without the continued support of everyone in that room, so our heartfelt thanks go out to all those that were able to attend. To all those that could not attend, you were dearly missed and, we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thanks to everyone at The Child Brain Injury Trust for your tireless dedication to children with #BrainInjury and their families, and for allowing us to support you and be part of the family.

Cheryl Abrahams, Bolt Burdon Kemp (BBK)

The evening was kick started by our amazing host Ben Cajee and welcome speeches from our CEO Lisa Turan and her dear friend, Lord Michael Hastings. The warm welcomes were coupled with a poignant acknowledgement of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine with Lord Michael Hastings quoting Thomas Merton: ‘Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire if they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbour’s worthy.’ This quote provided both the perfect opportunity for everyone to take a moment and reflect and was also very fitting to lead into our first set of awards.

Our first three awards were for Young Achiever for Inspiration and Impact, Rising Star and Advocacy. Congratulations to Connor Lynes, Zachary Morrision, Fergus Cherrington and our own Sharon Machin. Their innovation, passion and dedication to raising awareness of childhood acquire brain injury and the work we do is incredible.

The Hospital Team, Collaboration and Outstanding Family Awards were presented next. Massive congratulations to the Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital (BCH) team, Leigh Day Solicitors, The Eden Dora Trust, and the Pilling and the Dyer families. The BCH, Leigh Day Solicitors and the Eden Dora Trust continue to go above and beyond and make a genuine difference. The Pilling family have shown true courage in sharing their journey and have become a lifeline for so many families. Similarly, the Dyer family have not only shown resilience, but they have also used every opportunity to support us as a charity.

So honoured to have won the Outstanding Family Award at the #CBITDiamondAwards it was a very emotional day and night. Charlie made the most wonderful memories and we’re so thankful to everyone, including host Ben Cajee, who made a fuss of him.

Emma Pilling, CBIT Family 

Then followed our Professional Supporter, Outstanding ABI Educator and Corporate Supporter Awards. Huge well done to Helen Blakesley, Dr Emily Bennett, Diane Henson and JMW Solicitors. Their invaluable support of CBIT is truly amazing.

Taking a short break from our awards, Lisa Turan took to the stage to say a very moving farewell to our wonderful Rachel Ritter who is sadly leaving us at the end of March after 15 years at the charity. Rachel has been such a big part of the charity and will be hugely missed by everyone, but we wish her all the very best in her future role.

Moving back to our final awards, we had the Outstanding Individual Supporter, Judges Choice for Outstanding Individual, (surprise) Inspirational Leader and Lifetime Achievement Awards. Congratulations to our wonderful winners Rankeshwar Batta, Jaden Payne, Lisa Turan and Dr Judith Middleton.

Throughout the evening we also ran our Diamonds and Coals and Diamond Draw fundraisers. Congratulation to our Diamond and Coals winner who received four life coaching sessions from the Clear Coach: Dr Rakish Rana and our Diamond Draw winner who took home a beautiful diamond necklace worth £1000.

To conclude, we would like to say a big thank you to our headline sponsors for the evening; Moore Barlow, Premier Specialists, Rathbones and No5 Barristers Chambers. Along with all our individual award sponsors; 3PB Barristers, Bush and Co, CBIRS, CL Medilaw, DAS, FBC Manby Bowdler, Premier Medical and Simpson Millar. Thank you once again to absolutely everyone that came along and helped make this night possible, we love you all and we are delighted to announce that this event has been our most successful fundraising event to date.

Here is the full list of our Award Winners and Highly Commended:

  • Connor Lynes Young Achiever for inspiration and Impact Award (Winner)
  • Zachary Morrison Young Achiever for inspiration and Impact Award (Highly Commended)
  • Fergus Cherrington Rising Star Award (Winner)
  • Sharon Machin Advocacy Award (Winner)
  • Trauma/Rehab Team, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Hospital Team Award (Winner)
  • Leigh Day Solicitors Collaboration Award (Winner)
  • The Eden Dora Trust Collaboration Award (Highly Commended)
  • The Pilling Family Outstanding Family Award (Winner)
  • The Dyer Family Outstanding Family Award (Highly Commended)
  • Helen Blakesley Professional Supporter Award (Winner)
  • Dr Emily Bennett Professional Supporter Award (Highly Commended)
  • Diane Henson Outstanding ABI Educator Award (Winner)
  • JMW Solicitors Corporate Supporter Award (Winner)
  • Rankeshwar Batta Outstanding Individual Supporter Award (Winner)
  • Jaden Payne Judges Choice for Outstanding Individual Award (Winner)
  • Lisa Turan Inspirational Leader Award (Winner)
  • Dr Judith Middleton Lifetime Achievement Award (Winner)

Last night’s #CBITDiamondAwards were a truly uplifting evening showcasing the work done by the brilliant Lisa Turan and her wonderful team.

Vidisha Joshi, Premier Medical 

The Child Brain Injury Trust is special, it is human, they care. The impact they have is indescribable, they make the worst times of your life manageable, they say “we’re here” and they really mean it. At the most lonely and isolated point in your life that means more than you can ever fully express.

Emma Pilling, CBIT Family