iVillage Community Award Winners 2008

Mum of the year - Wendy
Wendy gave birth to Charlie in 2006 and sadly he has had many life-changing health problems in his short life.

Over the last 12 months, little Charlie has had vision and development problems, and has been diagnosed with the rare condition, Albinism.

Throughout this time, Wendy also became a carer for her father who was suffering (and eventually died from) lung disease.

Wendy herself has long-term health problems, but is so happy and upbeat that she's an inspiration to everyone.

Wendy even manages to find time to voluntarily run a kids' group in her local community and is an active fundraiser for the project.

Judge Rebecca says: "I was overwhelmed by Wendy's sheer strength of character. The past few years have been incredibly tough for her yet she continues to smile and find time for others."

Carer of the year - Dorne
Dorne has four gorgeous children, who she treasures immensely. All of the children have experienced physical problems of some kind and Dorne's eldest son has severe physical problems and spends a lot of time in a wheelchair.

He also has several behavioural issues which, day-to-day, are an ongoing struggle for the family.

Sadly, as a result of his problems, he has experienced terrible bullying in school and Dorne has become a real champion of others who have experienced - and are experiencing - bullying by becoming a Community Leader of iVillage's Beat Bullying message board.

Dorne has health problems of her own, but despite all of this she is always on the go, helping people and doing everything she can for her family. She also manages to find time to work as a paranormal investigator! And she's not even 30-years-old yet!

Judge Dianne says:"The bullying issue is a big one for me - to see such a young woman extending her care to others affected by bullying as well as her own is truly amazing."

Slimmer of the year - Mellers
Mellers has lost an incredible 100lbs! She lost more than five stone of that weight during the course of 2007 and is now at her goal weight.

As well as encouraging others to stick with their weight-loss journeys on the Weight Watchers board, she also leads members on the Running For Fitness and Fun board and dedicates an enormous amount of time each week to motivating others.

Mellers was nominated by several people - one sums it up by writing: "Many girls on our board suffer from a variety of problems such as depression, compulsive eating and comfort eating.

"She has never put anyone down, and when she does speak sternly it's done in such a nice way.

"She has had her own problems to deal with, which probably helps with her understanding of others, and some recognition would certainly make her YEAR."

Judge Jeni says: "We all know that diets don't work unless there is a genuine understanding of the cause of eating.

"We all know that keeping weight off and really dealing with the issues that keeps us running to the bread bin requires a helping hand and a big, fat dollop of nurturing clarity.

"It sounds as if Mellers has that in bucket-loads."

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