The Vernon Building Society has revealed this year’s winners of its Community Awards, sharing its £10,000 pot among 14 local organisations.

The Community Awards celebrate Stockport’s charity and not-for-profit sector and has donated over £80,000 to local good causes over the last eight years.

This year Vernon had 66 entries, and the 14 finalists were chosen for their support of communities in Stockport and surrounding areas.

Alexander Deakin (pictured), marketing and brand manager, presented the building society’s first digital awards ceremony.

He said: “This year’s awards were extra special, with the pandemic making it especially hard for organisations to fundraise.

“All 14 of our finalists are so deserving and we wish we could have celebrated their achievements in person.

“That wasn’t possible this year, so we did the next best thing. On Friday we screened a virtual awards ceremony with all the glitz, glam and Stockport spirit we could muster – dedicated to our amazing winners.”

The winners were announced on Friday night during the awards ceremony, screened via social media, after a record 12,000 votes were cast.

Special guests DJs Fiona Sadler from Imagine Radio and Chellce AJ from Strawberry Radio presented awards and viewers were treated to an exclusive performance of Defying Gravity from Wicked the Musical, by West End star Rebecca Gilliland.

Last year’s winner Millie’s Trust, which provides education and training in first aid, took the top spot again, with Seashell Trust and the Stockport County Community Foundation coming second and third.

Vernon’s Staff Choice Award, which awards an additional £500 of funding, went to Hatters Outreach Providing Essentials, which supports the homeless community across Stockport.

The winners are as follows:

The awards can be watched here.