Isla Telford
The co-founder of a Stoke-on-Trent based CIC that works with and for local communities has been nominated for a Civic Pride Award in the Your Heroes Awards for “going above and beyond to make the city proud of itself.”
Isla Telford is the co-founder and co-director of Urban Wilderness CIC and a freelance creative consultant who has a passion for community-led cultural and social regeneration, changing people’s perceptions and the re-imagination of public spaces.
She has been nominated by Susan Clarke, Executive Director of Stoke Creates, who said: “Isla has gone above and beyond this year to make the city proud of itself. Not only has she been one of the three directors of Urban Wilderness who have brought heritage to life in Longton with the Pig Parade, animating the centre of Longton with humour, colour and joy, music and carnival, but she has also brought her generous and wise expertise to support the fantastic SABLE to deliver the cultural marvel that is Six Towns Carnival.
“To top it off in 2025 she led the design and delivery of The People’s Parade, the centrepiece of the city’s centenary event calendar. The People’s Parade saw 1,200 paraders and 100 volunteers takeover the streets of Hanley on a very wet Saturday in June.
“Isla’s vision for a parade that genuinely included all of the citizens of the city, where everyone was welcome, made by the artists and the communities of the city was realised. Everyone involved and all the 5,000 plus people who saw the parade said it was an unforgettable moment of joy and pride.
“Isla worked so hard to make this dream a reality, and to make it safe for everyone. She did so much of the un-glamorous work and gave the city a positive, inclusive, joyful snapshot of itself in this centenary year.
“Isla is a modest person, she doesn’t think she’s a hero and that is exactly what makes her one. We would love Isla to know how much her quiet strength, skill and creative vision is appreciated. Thank you Isla!”
Now in its eighth year, Urban Wilderness works with the local community to regenerate through personal creativity, public artworks and community events.
Isla said: “I am hugely positive about Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. There are some great things happening here, and I want to help and support that by building local identities and looking to change people’s expectations and how they view where they live.
“Good things aren’t just possible – they really are happening here. At Urban Wilderness we are really excited with our plans for the future and are looking to take on a building in Longton which will give us a great base from which to work from and hopefully will be a real community hub of creativity and positivity.”
Jenna Goodwin
Photographer, CEO, historian, entrepreneur, volunteer, equestrian manager, storyteller, connector – whichever hat she’s wearing, Jenna Goodwin is a champion of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.
Jenna, or The Red Haired Stokie as many will know her, has an infectious passion for the area. So much so that her two main current roles are devoted to spreading the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent gospel.
Described in her nomination for a Your Heroes Award as “a wonderful friend of the local area”, Jenna is an advocate of where she lives and is noted for her positivity and for working tirelessly to tell stories of the city she loves.
She uses her social media presence as The Red Haired Stokie to campaign for and showcase the city and county.
With a camera or pencil in her hand, Jenna weaves tales that celebrate. Her deep-seated love for her local area now resonates through her two CICs: The Red Haired Stokie and The Staffordshire Signal.
Both tell stories and support Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent – but whilst The Red Haired Stokie is a nostalgia-based platform that tells stories and tales of local history, her new venture, The Staffordshire Signal, looks at the present and towards the future. This is in the form of an app and an upcoming free, monthly, not-for-profit print magazine.
The magazine will include features, articles, stories, event listings and reviews – all promoting the area and showing people not only what is going on but the many people who are driving the county and city forward too.
Jenna said: “It will be a lifestyle magazine as I see lifestyle as more important at impacting change than news.
“I have community in my veins, am fiercely proud of where I’m from and always talk it up. I want to sway people away from social media through print, and want to put people over profit, and collaboration over competition. That’s why I want to support local in every way that I can with this venture.
“We live in a fantastic part of the country, with so many beautiful green spaces and with so much going on that people just don’t know about. I want to change that and as the magazine’s tagline states, we will be ‘Sharing The Stories Of Staffordshire’.
Jenna Goodwin has been nominated in the Civic Pride category of the Your Heroes Awards 2025.
VAST
Established in 1920, VAST provides specialist services to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire, supporting them to deliver high quality services to local communities.
As the Local Infrastructure Organisation for Stoke-on-Trent, VAST is seen as an unofficial chamber of commerce and a one-stop-support-shop.
VAST’s team of 40 enables other organisations to focus on what they do best and deliver quality services to enhance the lives of North Staffordshire residents.
They do this by being leaders of and advocates for the sector, providing capacity building support, supporting partnerships and collaboration both within the sector and across sectors and by supporting a thriving volunteering ecosystem for the city.
VAST helps to create, support and develop strong, efficient and resilient voluntary and community groups, enabling them to thrive, flourish and to provide the best services possible to support communities. They do this through collaborating with and supporting a variety of key stakeholders and organisations.
Their key aim is to promote and advance the professional development of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector locally and to support and encourage a vibrant, thriving and sustainable local sector which can deliver high quality services for the benefit of their beneficiaries.
VAST’s Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Healings, said: “Over time we’ve worked closely with our local communities to understand what truly works for them, refining our processes to meet their evolving needs.
“Our personalised approach and commitment to continuous improvement ensures that we provide the best support possible. Our team are all hugely passionate about what they do and this shines through in their work.
“As an organisation that is much more used to being in the background, providing behind-the-scenes support, it is fantastic to see that the work we do is appreciated and valued.”
VAST has been nominated in the Civic Pride category of the Your Heroes Awards 2025.
Port Vale Foundation
Port Vale Foundation is harnessing the power of Port Vale FC to change thousands of lives.
Over the past 12 months the charity has reached almost 6,000 people from Stoke-on-Trent with direct contact through one of its many community-based programmes.
Independently researched feedback has shown that 91% of people from the Foundation’s programmes reported increased physical wellbeing, 88% said it had been positive for their mental wellbeing and 89% said it had given them something to belong to.
Will Turner, Community and CSR Director at Port Vale FC, said: “From the streets to the stands, everything we do – on and off the pitch – is driven by one thing: impact. It’s why we show up. It’s why we fight for this community, for a place like no other, Stoke-on-Trent and its people – putting pride back into the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.
“The Foundation and the community it serves aren’t just add-ons to the football club, they’re the beating heart of everything we do. The soul. The reason we matter.
“At Port Vale Foundation, every session, every handshake, every story shared across a cup of tea, it’s part of something real. The badge has the power to unlock doors other organisations can’t. It reaches people the system forgets. It brings hope to places that need it most.
“We have cemented partnerships with the local authority to provide support for new families via our family hub, impact on educational institutes to support young people learning, support for adults through our community cupboard and lounge and created a connection to diverse communities through our community events. This is more than football. This is Port Vale.”
Port Vale Foundation has been nominated in the Civic Pride category of the Your Heroes Awards.