Kent stops to applaud its quiet army: the carers, gardeners and walking-footballers holding neighbours up

At the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards 2026 in Canterbury, the trophies went to the people who hold a county's spirits together: Ace Brown of Stagecoach, named Kindness Champion; Mary Wade, Volunteer of the Year; Bromley FC Community Trust's Parkinson's Walking Football, Sporting Champion; the Abbey Physic Community Garden, Wellbeing Space of the Year; and dozens more counsellors, foster carers, school champions and fundraisers. None of them do it for a ceremony — which is rather the point of having one.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being