Balham and Tooting Community Association

Nominations are now open for this year’s Community Awards!

BATCA is delighted to announce the launch of the Community Awards 2026.

Has someone made a difference in our Tooting and Balham community that deserves recognition? Do you know a person or an organisation that goes the extra mile for others?

If so, nominate your hero now! The closing date for nominations is 6 August.

Read on for more detail about the awards, this year’s categories, and guidance for nominations. Then click the yellow button to submit your nominations.

This year’s event will be on Sunday 20 September, 5.30-8.00pm at St Boniface Church Hall, 185 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PG. Tickets will be available nearer the time.

Award categories

This year there will be three categories, as follows.

1. Promoting the arts and creativity

This category will recognise individuals and groups who have made an outstanding contribution to the community through arts, culture, and creative expression. Nominees may have inspired others through visual arts, music, theatre, dance, literature, crafts, or other creative activities that enrich community life. We will celebrate those who use creativity to bring people together, promote inclusion, enhance local spaces, preserve cultural heritage, or provide opportunities for learning and self-expression in the Balham and Tooting communities.

2. Supporting healthy and resilient communities 

This award celebrates an individual or organisation that has made an exceptional contribution to improving the health, well-being, and resilience of the Balham and Tooting communities. Nominees may have provided support to vulnerable people, promoted physical or mental health, reduced social isolation, encouraged community participation, or helped communities respond to challenges and change. This category celebrates those whose dedication, compassion, and leadership have strengthened community connections, fostered inclusion, and helped create a healthier, safer, and more resilient place for all.

3. Heroes who go above and beyond 

Any activity bringing together people across Tooting and Balham in ways that This award recognises individuals and groups, outside of the categories above, who consistently exceed expectations through their dedication, compassion, and commitment to making a positive difference in Balham and Tooting. Nominees demonstrate exceptional effort and a willingness to go the extra mile to support others, often without seeking recognition or reward.
The award celebrates those whose extraordinary efforts strengthen communities, create positive change, and make a lasting difference in the lives of others.

Guidance and rules

1. People of all ages and backgrounds are eligible, with awards for teams and individuals  
2. Nominations will be assessed by a panel of independent judges 
3. We do not give awards to individuals and teams for the same activity in consecutive years however we recognise and celebrate all those who are nominated, so don’t hold back if your nominee is a previous recipient
4. Any field of activity counts, including helping neighbours, or being a dedicated member of a community group or faith body
5. Sustained effort that makes a real difference to others’ lives is key 
6. Although primarily for volunteers, exceptional heroes in the workplace can also be nominated  if they go well beyond the expectations for their roles
7. Nominations are judged on their quality, not the number received. We ask that groups do not work together to send in a large number of nominations for the same individual/team, but rather combine to send one high quality nomination for the judges to review. Where more than one nomination is received for an individual or team, the nomination that provides the most useful information in support will be sent forward to the judges, who will not see the other submissions
8. BATCA asks that nominations include a full description of why the nominee is deserving (100-200 words). Very short nominations do not tend to be successful because the judges lack information to make a choice, and BATCA may not be able to share such nominations with the judging panel
9. All nominations passed to the judging panel will be celebrated  at our Community Heroes evening on 20 September 2026 (tickets will be on sale soon)

We look forward to receiving the nominations.

The awards evening

The awards will take place at a celebration evening with presentation of the awards by our VIP guests.

Sunday 20 September 2026, 5.30-8pm, St Boniface Church Hall, Mitcham Road, Tooting SW17.

All of those nominated will be celebrated alongside the presentation of our six main awards for teams and individuals in the three categories. Ticket will be available nearer the time.

Last year’s winners (2025):

Health, sport and leisure – individual 

Maliya Beg – Netball coach

Health, sport and leisure – team

Balham Boxing Club – Boxing coaching

Making a difference for young people – individual 

Atif Siddiqui – Scout leader

Making a difference for young people – team 

Furzedown Youth centre team – Managing a youth centre

Building our community – individual 

Nicole Henworth – volunteer at Tooting Community Kitchen and Community Manager at local social enterprise Tooting Works

Building our community – team 

Transition Town Tooting –  Town Anywhere project