We are so proud to be awarded an influential UK health award for our work transforming local people’s health
We have worked hard to secure one of this year’s GSK IMPACT Awards, a prestigious honour for health and care charities in the UK awarded by global biopharma company GSK in partnership with The King’s Fund.
The award celebrates our dedicated work supporting local communities, enhancing the lives and wellbeing of Blackpool residents. Whilst Blackpool faces significant socio-economic challenges, our town is home to strong, resilient communities who work together to create positive change. Through targeted support and partnership, we are helping to improve health outcomes and provide brighter opportunities for people across the area.
Following a rigorous selection and assessment process, Empowerment was chosen from a record number of award entries as one of the 10 winners of the 2026 GSK IMPACT Awards. Now in its 29th year, the awards are delivered in partnership with leading health and care charity The King’s Fund. Since its inception in 1997, more than 570 charities have received a GSK IMPACT Award. The awards are widely seen as a hallmark of excellence in the charity health sector and are designed to recognise outstanding small and medium-sized charities working to improve people’s health and wellbeing in the UK. Award winners will receive £40,000 in unrestricted funding, as well as a place on a highly coveted leadership development programme provided by The King’s Fund.
Here is Blackpool we are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our residents. Whilst life expectancy in our town is currently below the national average, we have strong local drive to reduce inequalities and create healthier communities. Many local organisations, including us here at Empowerment, are tackling the complex social, economic and environmental factors that affect health outcomes. Blackpool is also focussing on improving mental health and supporting people living with long term conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and respiratory illness. With continued collaboration and investment, we are building a more resilient community where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier, happier life.
The award judges were particularly struck by our commitment to shaping services around people with lived experience of difficult periods in their lives. They highlighted our innovative Lived Experience Team, which supports people across Blackpool facing multiple disadvantages. Through specialist support for domestic abuse, mental health, substance use, suicide prevention and advocacy, we help people who often feel unheard to shape their own care and influence wider change. Judges also recognised us as a trusted strategic partner, helping to shape both local services and national policy.
Lisa Weaks, Senior Associate at The King’s Fund, said: ‘People living in Blackpool face deep health inequalities, with poor housing and financial hardship driving ill-health compared to many other parts of the country. Empowerment Charity is a real force for change, transforming lives by co-designing innovative services shaped around the needs of local communities. By listening to the people they support, building trust and empowering individuals to shape the help they receive, Empowerment is making a lasting difference. It is inspiring to see the impact of this work, and we are delighted the charity has received one of this year’s IMPACT Awards.’
Commenting on the award, Mike Crowther MBE, Chief Executive of Empowerment Charity said: ‘I am absolutely delighted that Empowerment has been chosen to receive the GSK IMPACT Award 2026. As a proudly Blackpool based charity, Empowerment is dedicated to writing a new and more hopeful narrative for our town. Every day, we reach out to our forgotten communities: people experiencing the deepest health inequalities and the greatest barriers to accessing the services they deserve.
‘Our outreach model is simple but powerful: we go to where people are, build genuine, trusting relationships, and walk alongside them as they navigate the often complex world of health and social care. We listen intently to Blackpool’s communities, amplify their voices, and advocate with system leaders to drive real, transformational change. At the heart of everything we do is the power of lived experience. We believe in empowering local people to be the change. I could not be prouder of our team, a group of passionate local people who care deeply about making a positive, lasting difference to the communities we all call home.’
Charities are operating in a more difficult financial environment whilst demand for their services continues to grow. Additionally, as the government moves to implement its 10‑year Health Plan reforms –including the shift toward more localised ‘neighbourhood health’ services, prevention‑focused delivery models and broader NHS system transformation – charities remain essential to providing community‑based services.
Against this challenging backdrop, judges particularly highlighted Empowerment’s work supporting people in Blackpool with complex needs. One of its services, The Den, supports children and young people affected by domestic abuse and has helped influence national policy through the development of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s initiative Tell Nicole campaign. The charity reports that 87% of children supported by The Den experienced a reduction in witnessing abuse. Empowerment’s services also include its Gambling Harms Project, which offers safe, trauma-informed spaces where people can begin recovery and rebuild connections, and projects dedicated to being alongside people bereaved by suicide, those living with neurodiverse conditions, and the Armed Forces community. Judges praised the charity for showing how collaboration, working alongside people with lived experience, can reshape services for those most often excluded.
Empowerment began as a grassroots movement in 1995, when local people in Blackpool formed S.I.G.H. (Support in Getting Heard) to provide advocacy within their community. This later grew into Blackpool Advocacy and merged with Lancaster and District Women’s Aid, becoming what is now Empowerment Charity Lancashire. Today, ECL plays a vital role across Blackpool’s health and care community. Judges recognised the charity’s strength in building trust locally and ensuring the voices and experiences of local people help shape services and influence wider change.
Published | January 2026