1V GROUP OF THE YEAR 2026
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The 1V Group of the Year should be an example of how a community-based organisation should be and how to successfully interact with members of all communities to make a tangible difference.
The 1V Group of the Year should demonstrate engagement, achievement, and a level of cohesion within their work to create a more integrated Blackburn. They should have a diverse approach that can be accessed by all backgrounds. Furthermore, they should have a track record of working in partnership with communities in Blackburn, as well as uplifting marginalized communities.
The 1V Group of the Year will have shown excellence in their approach towards creating a positive community and town. They should share sustainable and long-term goals with the community of Blackburn and work collaboratively to make a positive impact on peoples lives.
While the award aims to acknowledge the work of candidates in the previous 12 months, it can also be recognition of a continued level of service to the communities.
This category is not limited to non-profit organisations, but those outside of the non-profit sector must clearly demonstrate value to the local community.
HERE ARE YOUR FINALISTS
BAGS for Strife
BAGS for Strife is a postvention charity founded and led entirely by volunteers who have been bereaved by suicide. Born from lived experience, the organisation was created in response to the urgent lack of accessible, compassionate support available to families and friends in the immediate aftermath of a suicide loss.
Through conversations with others affected, the founders identified four emotions that consistently shape suicide bereavement: Blame, Anger, Guilt, and Sadness. These insights underpin the charity’s approach, ensuring support is both practical and emotionally informed. At the heart of BAGS for Strife’s work are its carefully curated support bags and the Little Book of Help, designed by those with lived experience to provide guidance, reassurance, and a sense that recipients are not alone during traumatic grief.
To date, over 4,400 support bags have been distributed nationally via police forces, GP practices, hospitals, prisons, universities, coroners’ offices, and local charities, with additional requests made directly by families. Strong partnerships with police forces ensure support reaches people at their most vulnerable moments, when other information can feel overwhelming or unheard.
Funded entirely through donations and fundraising, BAGS for Strife also raises awareness through community outreach, becoming a vital, health-focused lifeline for those navigating the complex impacts of suicide bereavement.
Idle
Women
Idle Women is an arts, environment, and social-justice collaboration founded by artists in 2015. Their work reaches beyond the horizon, co-creating transformative spaces with women—spaces that cannot be cut, closed, or taken away. Idle Women create artworks that are spaces: a boat, a garden, a rave, a website. Each is rooted in social-justice collaboration and designed to be inhabited, animated, and owned by women for generations.
Their first major endeavour was Narrowboat Selina Cooper, conceived and built with women living in a specialist domestic-violence refuge. Over two years, the boat toured the Leeds–Liverpool Canal, sparking friendships and forming the foundations of what is now the vibrant Idle Women community.
In 2018, they crowdfunded to purchase a strip of canalside land in Nelson, which women transformed by hand into the UK’s first and only Physic Garden for Women—a medicinal artwork dedicated to women’s health and built to last a century. It now provides safe, permanent access to nature, knowledge, and beauty.
Through a long-standing partnership with Humraaz Blackburn, Idle Women offer year-round creative programmes, paid traineeships, health support, social-enterprise opportunities, trips, residentials, and specialist outreach for women in crisis.
Their Fire Chai group meets weekly at a large allotment where women grow food, tend the land, cook on an open fire, and build friendships, confidence, and adventure. Together, they make lasting change—creating a strong, alternative space where women can be themselves and find the courage to learn to drive, start a business, seek awe, create beauty, and celebrate each other.
Idle Women’s work is hopeful and unapologetically honest. Through co-creation, they aim for social change rooted in women’s strengths, recognising that transformation is a daily process—complex, beautiful, and always possible.
Shelter
Lancashire
Shelter Lancashire is dedicated to defending everyone’s right to a safe, secure, and affordable home. Based in Blackburn and working across the county, the team supports individuals and families facing homelessness, housing insecurity, and the wider challenges that affect their ability to live well. Through expert advice, advocacy, and practical solutions, they help people navigate complex housing systems, assert their rights, and secure sustainable accommodation.
A defining strength of Shelter Lancashire is its commitment to lived experience. Their Lived Experience programme ensures that people who have faced homelessness are not only heard but actively involved in shaping services, influencing decision-making, and co-designing solutions that reflect real needs. This approach keeps their work grounded, human, and deeply impactful.
Their frontline support is matched by strong collaboration with local authorities, community organisations, and national partners to challenge systemic barriers and campaign for fairer housing policies.
For many, Shelter Lancashire has been life-changing. “A few years ago, I was homeless and struggling. Shelter helped me rebuild my life with kindness and without judgement. Thanks to them, I’m now back on my feet. They are lifesavers.”
Driven by compassion, expertise, and community action, Shelter Lancashire continues to fight for housing justice for all.
Z's Defence Academy
Founded over seven years ago by Zaynab “Zee” Jogi, Z’s Defence Academy is a pioneering UK charity dedicated to empowering women, young people, and underserved communities through self-defence, fitness, outdoor adventure, education, and volunteering. Built on the ethos of Engage, Educate, Empower, the Academy helps participants aged 10–70+ develop confidence, resilience, leadership, and personal growth, creating pathways to education, employment, and community involvement.
The Academy delivers ten specialist programmes, including Stop Think Self-Defence, Z Adventure, Youth Can, Boost Fitness, and Transform4Life, each designed to break down cultural, social, and personal barriers to participation. Over the years, Z’s Defence Academy has supported thousands of individuals, promoting physical wellbeing, emotional resilience, and positive lifestyle change.
The charity’s groundbreaking work has been widely recognised in local and national media, including the BBC, ITV, Lancashire Telegraph, and Manchester Evening News, and has earned multiple awards, including Charity of the Year and Community Initiative of the Year.
Under Zee’s leadership, a Guinness World Record-holding adventurer, fitness instructor, and self-defence expert, Z’s Defence Academy has become a trusted and influential force for social change. By inspiring confidence, building skills, and fostering inclusion, the charity exemplifies courage, innovation, and lasting impact, making it a deserving finalist for One Voice Group of the Year.
WINNER 2026
Z’s Defence Academy Named 1V Group of the Year 2026
Z’s Defence Academy was announced as the winner of the prestigious 1V Group of the Year Award 2026, sponsored by Blackburn & Darwen Youth Zone, recognising its outstanding commitment to empowering women, young people, and underserved communities across Lancashire and beyond.
Founded by Zaynab ‘Zee’ Jogi more than seven years ago, the charity has become a leading force for positive social change through its unique combination of self-defence training, fitness, outdoor adventure, education, and volunteering opportunities. Guided by its ethos of Engage, Educate, Empower, the Academy helps people of all ages build confidence, resilience, leadership skills, and pathways to brighter futures.
The award recognises the Academy’s significant impact through programmes including Stop Think Self-Defence, Z Adventure, Youth Can, Boost Fitness, and Transform4Life, which have supported thousands of participants to overcome barriers, improve wellbeing, and achieve their goals.
Z’s Defence Academy was selected from a strong shortlist of finalists, reflecting the breadth of inspiring community work taking place across the region.
“I feel privileged to receive the Group of the Year award at this prestigious event, from one of the best organisations who deliver these award ceremonies every year. I can’t want to inspire more people in the community,” Zaynab Jogi.
The Academy’s achievements have gained recognition locally and nationally, earning multiple awards and media coverage. This latest accolade celebrates not only the organisation’s innovation and dedication, but also its lasting impact on the lives of the people and communities it serves.
The One Voice Group of the Year Award highlights organisations that demonstrate exceptional leadership, inclusion, and community impact.
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