On Thursday 18th January 2024 at the Palace of Westminster 28 individuals from around the UK were awarded the esteemed British Citizen Award for their exceptional endeavours which have positively impacted communities up and down the country. The prestigious event was hosted by TV presenter Matt Allwright.

The British Citizen Award in partnership with One Stop, is now in its 10th year and recognises an elite group of exceptional individuals twice annually. The January 2024 cohort of medallists have been committed to their causes for a combined 401 years, been responsible for £12,890,500 in fundraising, and have impacted the lives of 63,283 people. Each person selected to receive the BCA Medal of Honour as a legacy for their achievements richly deserves the right to use the letters BCA after their name, in perpetual recognition of the nation’s gratitude.

Among the 28 honoured was David Hutton from Greater Manchester, who received The British Citizen Award for Services to Volunteering & Charitable Giving (BCAv).

David is the Co-Founder and Trustee of the charity, Team 1C, a group of parents whose children were born with Congenital Heart Defects. They formed in 2017 whilst living on a Cardiac ward with their children, to date they have funded 201 heart surgeries and raised over £130,000 for charity.

David is the author of "The Long Cutie" blogs, a story of his and his Daughter Isla's (who he affectionately called "Isla Bear") journey through life with Long QT Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects heart rhythm. David is also involved in research on Long QT, via Thryv Therapeutics. Tragically, David’s daughter died suddenly in October 2022, but instead of focusing on the sadness, he channelled it into building Isla's legacy. David is a patient advocate and shares his experience and knowledge to support the Long QT community.

Just two weeks after Isla's death and surrounded by his Team 1C family, David did a fire walk, wearing Bear Ears, raising over £5,000 for Ronald McDonald House charity. Because of Isla and David’s story, over $15m has been invested to help get a new drug into trials. It is bittersweet, but a comfort to David to know that he and Isla are going to save lives.

David was presented with the Medal of Honour by Stephanie Wood, Managing Director from BCA Partners One Stop who said “Many congratulations to David Hutton for being presented with his Medal of Honour, what an achievement. This year was One Stop’s 6th year sponsoring the British Citizen Awards and yet again, we were amazed by the stories of such remarkable people across the country. Their acts of kindness and hard work in bettering their communities is truly inspirational. Congratulations to all of the medallists.”

Immediately following the formal presentations, the medallists and their families boarded an Open Top Lap of Honour Tour courtesy of Big Bus London. After taking in some of the iconic sights of the capital they disembarked at Church House in Westminster for a Certificate of Honour presentation. The certificates, presented by representatives from One Stop, Specsavers, Places for People, Uniserve and Objective HR, completed the official BCA proceedings. Each of the organisations associated with the BCA reflect the community-spirit and care for the community that the medallists are recognised for.   

The British Citizen Award was established in 2015 to recognise exceptional individuals who work tirelessly and selflessly to make a positive impact on their communities and society. The BCA recognises true community heroes who would otherwise likely be overlooked. Dubbed ‘The People’s Honours’, the BCA has so far recognised over 573 exceptional individuals for their divergent endeavours, making them a very exclusive group of the nation’s favourites.

Anyone with an MBE, OBE or Knighthood is ineligible for a BCA having already been deemed to have received recognition, however, anyone receiving the BCA can still be nominated for the other honours. Nominations can be made a www.britishcitizenawards.co.uk

For more information, please contact press@britishcitizenawards.co.uk or call 0203 002 7764.

^{Matt Allwright, David Hutton BCAv (centre), and Stephanie Wood.}