Megan Hems, 33, who founded the local community initiative, Activity Angels CIC, which aims to tackle loneliness for adults 18+ across Warrington, has won Rising Star of the Year award at the Women in Business awards 2026.
The Awards Evening was held on March 28th 2026 at the Bolton Whites Hotel Premier Suite, and is known across the region for empowering and celebrating local female founders and business owners across the North West, including Bolton and surrounding areas.
Anita McKay, founder of WIB, said “I really don’t think you can comprehend how tough this year was, so to be a Finalist is something you should be proud of.”
The finalists were all advised on the night that there had been over 2,000 nominations received, around 340 people in attendance, with 180+ finalists, and only 37 winners to take home a trophy.
Megan Hems, winner of Rising Star of the Year 2026, said “I am honestly so honoured to have won this award. It is a wonderful feeling to have others believe in you and what you are trying to achieve. I’m grateful to everyone who voted, and all of those on the judging panel for picking me as their winner. The competition was very strong across all the categories, and all the finalists seemed so deserving, so I really was shocked to win! I would like to say a special thanks to Anita and her team for being so supportive on the night. I attended the event by myself, and was absolutely shaking coming off the stage with my trophy, and she ensured I was met off stage by one of the event partners who gave me a hug and made sure I was okay. The realisation that the team knew I was by myself so had taken the time to make special arrangements to support me, was something I found really thoughtful and appreciated immensely.”
The event had 37 awards categories up for grabs, Rising Star as one of them, which was the category Activity Angels CIC was nominated for. To become a finalist, the ladies had to have been nominated initially, and then ask people to vote for them. Once a nominee had received over 80 votes, they took one of the allocated spots as a finalist in that category. There were around 5/6 finalists per category, with awards judged by an independent panel and the winner announced on the evening.
Megan stated that she founded Activity Angels CIC from lived experience of loneliness, having moved to Warrington by herself in 2019, and finding it difficult to meet people, which was hindered greater by the pandemic. Her initiative focusses on bringing people together over shared interests, to help adults meet others locally and make friends, with the main mission to reduce loneliness and social isolation across Warrington, and improve people’s overall well-being.
Megan explained that she set up the community organisation, with fellow directors, in 2024, which followed a 2023 study that found “More people in Warrington report feeling lonely than the national average (10% vs 6%).”
Their current activity offerings include; book lovers club, games night, bingo for adults with additional needs, knit and crochet clubs, jigsaw mornings, socials & meet ups, dating events and more.
She continued “Loneliness and social isolation are such a huge, yet hidden, issue in our town, with so many people feeling disconnected and lacking community, and all I hope is that our activity sessions can continue to support as many people locally who are feeling the same way I did. Loneliness doesn’t discriminate by age, even though it is unfortunately taboo to admit it.”
Jane Dixon, from The Bereavement Café CIC, who sponsored the Rising Star category said “Starting out is Brave. Starting something new is brave. Not when everything’s going well, but when you’re still finding your feet, still building confidence, still figuring it out as you go. Rising Stars deserve a spotlight. They deserve people who back them. They deserve a room full of women who clap like it’s already done.”
She continued “A star isn’t just a symbol. It’s a reminder: Keep Shining”.
A spokesperson told us “[Megan] nearly didn’t even go! The night before the awards, she said she felt embarrassed to attend alone, and so she was thinking of not going anymore. She said ‘well no one will care, because no one will even notice if I’m not there, because no one knows who I am anyway!’ Little did she know that she would go on to win it, and actually everyone would have noticed if she wasn’t in the room to collect the award… It just goes to show that even when you doubt yourself, what you’re doing, how successful or not you are, or don’t think you matter; the universe has a way of reminding you that you do.”
To find out more about the support Activity Angels CIC offers locally you can visit their website here: www.activityangels.co.uk , or follow them on Facebook- Activity Angels, or Instagram activity_angels
