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Your support makes all the difference.Nominations are open to find 50 unsung heroes and heroines who enrich the lives of others. Everybody knows someone who does amazing to help improve life in Britain, from volunteering with children, protecting wildlife, charity fundraising, campaigning for the environmental, or simply those who have done extraordinary things to help others in their community.
In previous years, the Happy List has included Britain’s longest serving barmaid, a man who provides free exercise classes for the elderly, and a couple who bought a house for a family of refugees.
Last year’s Happy List included Asma Shah, the founder and CEO of charity You Make It, which works to empower marginalised young women in London. “I was so happy to make it on the List, it felt heartening that someone felt my work deserved recognition,” says Asma, who set up You Make It in 2011 without funding. “It's really hard running a charity, especially in this climate, but our programmes are going from strength to strength. Our young women do so well and get the chance to work on themselves through mentoring, creative workshops, and work placements. Happily 83% are now happily in paid employment or working in their own start ups.”
Adventurer and motivational speaker Danny Bent appeared on the Happy List in 2015. Danny says: “I've raised over £500,000 for charity and organised the first ever global running relay, but being on the Happy List is the thing I feel most proud of to date. It’s the recognition that you may be poor in pocket, but you are rich in life. This is the award every human being should be pushing for, not the rich lists like most do.”
The Happy List was set up in 2008 by The Independent as an antidote to the greed-driven celebrity rich lists. Rather than celebrate privilege and wealth, The Happy List seeks to shine a light on people whose efforts are for no personal gain, and who often go unrecognised outside their own communities.
Jaime Thurston, the founder of charity 52 Lives who also appeared on last year’s Happy List, says she is nominating others this year. 52 Lives helps spread kindness and aims to change someone’s life every week of the year, thanks to the help of almost 100,000 supporters. 100% of what people give goes to the people we help. We also run Kindness Workshops for thousands of children every year. “I meet so many inspiring people through my charity,” says Jaime. “There are so many kind people in them world and I think it’s important to celebrate that.
“I always loved that the Happy List makes being kind and making life better for others an aspiration trait, and that it recognises people for what they do for the world, rather than how much money they have. Being on a list of so many wonderful people was amazing.”
Asma agrees “We are living in dark times, in which meaningless celebrity and wealth seem to be valued in such an odd way, so to be on something that recognises those who create happiness was and remains a proud moment.”
We need your nominations for the Happy List 2019. Please click here to nominate someone, it only takes a minute. Nominations close at midnight on Sunday 16 June 2019.
Terms and conditions: UK residents only. Nominations close at midnight on Sunday 16 June 2019. Individuals cannot nominate themselves. There will be 50 successful nominees who will feature on the Happy List 2019, which will be published online at independent.co.uk. Those whose nominations have been successful and will feature on the list will be notified by Tuesday 25 June 2019. The list will be published in August 2019.
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