Founder & CEO Carren Bell Wins Top Honour at National Women Achieving Greatness Awards

Carren Bell, Founder and CEO of Bolton-based charity Lagan’s Foundation, has been named the winner of The Third Sector Leader Award at the highly respected Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care Awards 2025. The ceremony took place on 2nd December 2025 at the Hilton London Bankside, celebrating women making outstanding contributions across the sector.

Since establishing Lagan’s Foundation in 2011, Carren has transformed what began as a small community-led idea into a well-established charity delivering essential respite care and support services across the North West. Her journey to founding the charity is deeply personal. After losing her daughter Lagan to a complex heart defect, Carren channelled her grief into lasting change, ensuring that no other family felt as unsupported or alone as she once did.

Carren received the award for her exceptional leadership, innovative approach and long-standing commitment to supporting children with complex health needs and their families.

Carren said, “I am incredibly honoured to have been named Third Sector Leader of the Year at the Women Achieving Greatness Awards. This recognition isn’t mine alone – it belongs to every single person who has supported me, believed in our mission and stood alongside our team this year.

Thank you to my colleagues, volunteers, partners and the families we serve. Your passion, commitment and trust make everything we do possible. We continue to deliver the essential care that families so desperately need, and it is only through your support that I can be the leader I strive to be.

This award is a reminder of the impact we create together and of the work still ahead. I am so proud of what we are building, and even more excited for what is to come. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

This year, three other members of the organisation were recognised as finalists:

• Emma Lewis (HR Operations Director, People Matters HR) – The Outstanding Partner Award
• Gifty Owusu-Achiaw (Greater Manchester Area Care Team Leader) – The Rising Star Award
• Claire Donnelly (Merseyside Area Care Team Leader) – The Social Care Superwoman Award (Children & Young People)

Carren added, “I’m incredibly proud of our finalists. Their achievements reflect the strength of our whole team and I’m grateful to work with such talented, compassionate women.”

The winners were selected by an independent panel chaired by Dr Cecilia Anim CBE, former President of the Royal College of Nursing, at an awards ceremony that brought together leading voices from across the sector, honouring women whose work is shaping the future of social care and driving long-lasting change.