Jane Finnie is 90 years old. Her walking isn't what it once was. And every Thursday, without fail, she ladles homemade soup into containers and carries them along the corridor of her Glasgow housing complex to neighbours who can't cook for themselves.

"That boy next door works too hard," she'll mutter, leaving a tub at his door. She has been running a Thursday club for the elderly in her area for twenty years. She befriends those living alone. She sits with neighbours who have dementia so their carers can take an hour to themselves.

Last September, Jane was named winner of the Great Neighbour Award at the BBC Make a Difference Awards in Scotland — and this week, the BBC has confirmed the 2026 awards are well under way, with judges now deliberating ahead of the September ceremony.

A Glasgow double

Jane wasn't the only Glaswegian on the stage in 2025. Julie Morrison took home the Community Group Award for founding Baby Loss Retreat, a charity offering counselling, trauma therapy and retreat support to grieving parents.

Driven by her own experience of stillbirth and a decade-long fight for justice, Julie has helped more than 2,000 families navigate the unbearable. "It makes me feel so happy," she said on receiving the award. "I think I'm still in shock."

Judge Judith Ralston, the BBC weather presenter, chose Julie's charity having lost a baby herself 24 years ago. "This charity brings comfort, understanding and essentially support for grieving and distressed parents," Judith said. "No one anticipates this happening to them. Well done, Julie."

Across Scotland

The 2025 Scottish winners spanned the country: Jo Holland in Elgin, whose Parkinson's Beats drumming programme has helped hundreds living with the condition; Pauline Moriarty in Troon, who founded Beautiful Inside and Out in memory of her daughter Jenna; Donald Graham and Laura Deans in Inverness, whose New Start Highland Gardens has offered more than 11,000 opportunities for people in crisis; and Rannoch the dog in Dalgety Bay, who patiently listens to primary pupils read aloud each week.

"The heart and soul of Scotland is on full display in these awards," said BBC Radio Scotland's Michelle McManus, who co-hosts the Scottish ceremony with Kaye Adams.

How the awards work

Run jointly by BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and 39 local stations across the UK, the Make a Difference Awards have grown into one of the largest community recognition schemes in the country. Last year more than 12,500 people were nominated.

There are eight categories: Volunteer, Community Group, Fundraiser, Young Hero (under-16s), Great Neighbour, Active, Environmental and Animal.

Nominations for 2026 opened on 23 February and closed at 5pm on Tuesday 31 March. Winners will be announced at regional ceremonies in September.

What you can do now

If you missed the 2026 deadline — and many will have — there are still ways to help. Listen out in September to find out who's been chosen across Scotland. If a name you nominated makes the list, shout about it. If a neighbour or volunteer in your street deserves recognition, start keeping notes now for the 2027 round; the strongest nominations are always the most specific.

And if you want to see what last year's winners are up to, full details and contact links for each charity are available at bbc.co.uk/makeadifference.

Jane Finnie, meanwhile, will almost certainly be making soup again on Thursday. Some heroes don't wait for awards.