Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2025 Winners Announced | Care Management Matters

Celebrating the many organisations and individuals recognised alongside Apax at the 2025 awards

On 17 March 2025, Care Management Matters (CMM) published the full list of winners and finalists from the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2025. Apax, a supported housing social enterprise in Sydenham, South East London, won the Development and Innovation Award and was a Technology Award finalist with VR Wellness.

The list is a reminder of how much good work happens across the not-for-profit sector. This article looks beyond our own news to celebrate the peers recognised on the same day.

A Day of Recognition

CMM reported that the winners were announced at a daytime ceremony on Friday 14 March 2025 at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham. Nominated individuals and organisations gathered to celebrate their achievements over the previous 12 months.

Sally Lindsay returned as host for the second consecutive year, and guests enjoyed an interactive performance from the disability-led charity DanceSyndrome. CMM also confirmed that £620.25 was raised from donations made during the ceremony.

Days like this matter for the sector. They bring together people who rarely have the chance to meet, and give them a moment to pause and recognise what they have achieved together. Many leave with new contacts and fresh ideas to take home.

Two Categories, Two Different Feelings

CMM's list showed Apax, VR Wellness, as a finalist in the Technology Award. That category was won by The Tech Lending Library from Alternative Futures Group, and it was a pleasure to be shortlisted alongside such thoughtful work.

In the Development and Innovation Award, CMM named Apax as the winner, with UK3Lions CIC, and The Hoppiness Project and Alive Activities, as finalists. Being shortlisted in one category and winning another was a moment of real gratitude.

Reaching a final is an honour in itself. Every finalist had come through a demanding judging process, and the experience of being shortlisted, whatever the result, is something any team can feel proud to share.

Celebrating Our Peers

The list included many inspiring names. Alzheimer Café Isle of Wight at Parklands won the Dementia Care Award, while DSN (Deaf and Sensory Network) won the Community Engagement Award.

Rosemary Stephen of Making Space won the Compassion Award, and Jill Davies of DHU Healthcare CIC won the Leadership Award. Edward Dean of Anxious Minds received the Making a Difference Award.

In the Creative Arts Award, The Wey Aye Lego Man Exhibition from Ngage NE took the prize, and the Dame Esther Rantzen Campaigning for Change Award went to Talking Generations, Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) and Intergenerational England.

What Peers Teach Us

Reading a list like this is a good way to learn. Every winner has found a different answer to the same question: how can we make life better for the people we support in our communities?

Some of the ideas involve technology, while others rely on music, art, conversation or companionship. There is no single right way to help people, and no idea is too small to matter, and the variety on this list shows how much there is to learn from each other.

Our own story from the day is told in more detail in our article on winning the Markel Development and Innovation Award. Here, though, the focus belongs on the wider community of organisations recognised alongside us.

Words From the Organisers

Lisa Werthmann, Director of Creative Operations at CMM, said the organisers could not be more pleased for the winners, who had all “gone above and beyond to support people in their communities.”

She also encouraged every finalist to feel immensely proud of their achievements, noting that the judges had faced some really tough decisions. It is a kind message, and one that every shortlisted organisation will appreciate.

CMM also paid tribute to two departing judges, Sarah Maguire and Kathy Roberts, for their support over the years, and thanked headline sponsor Markel UK alongside the other sponsors, partners and supporters.

A Sector Worth Celebrating

The not-for-profit sector is made up of organisations of every size, many working quietly in their own neighbourhoods. Awards like these give that work a moment in the spotlight it might not otherwise receive.

For smaller organisations especially, recognition can open doors. It can encourage staff, reassure residents and families, and help others in the sector hear about ideas they might like to try for themselves. That sharing is one of the quieter benefits of any awards programme.

Most of all, it is a chance to say thank you, both to the people on stage and to the many others who made their work possible. Behind every name on the list are people who give their time and energy to others, often far beyond what anyone sees.

Celebrating One Another

Congratulations to every winner and finalist at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2025. It was a privilege to be listed among them, and there is a great deal to learn from the work each one is doing.

Thanks also go to CMM, to Markel and to the judges, and to the residents and colleagues at Apax whose openness to new ideas made our own entries possible. We look forward to learning from this year's winners for a long time to come.

You can read the full list of winners and finalists in Care Management Matters: Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2025 winners announced.