Mike Caines Wins the 2026 Different Strokes Outstanding Contribution Award
- Mez Khan
Mike Caines Wins Different Strokes’ Outstanding Contribution Award 2026
For the past 14 years, Mike Caines has been a quiet constant behind Different Strokes. He has given his time and expertise to help the charity support younger stroke survivors across the UK. Different Strokes is proud to recognise Mike with the Outstanding Contribution Award 2026, celebrating his long-standing service as a trustee and Treasurer.
Mike became involved with the charity through his wife, Julia, who had a stroke in 1997 at the age of 52. At the time, support and awareness for younger stroke survivors was far more limited than it is today, and Mike remembers how difficult that experience was.
“When Julia had her stroke, there really wasn’t much support out there for younger stroke survivors,” he explained. “People still thought of stroke as something that only affected older people.”
Julia later began working in the charitable sector and came across Different Strokes through a funding application while working for a grant-making trust. After helping the charity secure funding for new support groups, she joined the trustee board. Not long afterwards, Mike also became involved.
A UK-qualified chartered accountant with decades of experience in senior finance roles, Mike initially stepped in to help improve the charity’s financial reporting.
“Julia came home, gave me all the numbers, and said, ‘I don’t get this, make it make sense,’” Mike said. “I reworked it into a format people could actually understand.”
That small piece of support soon developed into a much larger commitment. Since officially joining Different Strokes in 2012, Mike has dedicated time every month to overseeing the charity’s finances, supporting the leadership team and helping ensure the organisation remains financially secure as it continues to grow.
Much of his work takes place quietly in the background, but it has played an important part in providing stability during a period of significant development for the charity.
Reflecting on his time with Different Strokes, Mike said: “It makes a change to be involved with something where the driving factor isn’t profit – it’s actually making a difference to people’s lives.”
Mike describes his role as a trustee as a balance of responsibility, collaboration and trust. He works closely with the board and leadership team to help guide decisions, particularly around financial oversight.
Rather than viewing it as a formal governance role, he sees it as a practical, people-centred process where different experiences come together to support the charity’s work.
“I’ll come at things from a financial point of view,” he explained. “Others bring medical knowledge or lived experience, and together it helps us make better decisions.”
For Mike, this shared approach is one of the reasons he has remained involved for so long, alongside the sense that his professional skills are being used in a meaningful way.
Over the years, he has also seen the charity grow in reach and visibility, helping more people affected by stroke to access support.
“Raising awareness is so important,” he said. “If people haven’t heard of Different Strokes, they don’t know that support is there for them.”
Mike also feels that volunteering has had a lasting impact on him personally, broadening how he understands people and situations.
“It teaches you empathy,” he explained. “You learn to explain things differently and see things from other people’s points of view.”
For Mike, volunteering is about far more than financial oversight or board meetings – it is about helping build something that genuinely supports others.
“I can’t commend volunteering enough,” he said. “Get involved. Get stuck in. You’ll learn things about yourself, about people, and you’ll make a difference to someone’s life.”
Despite his important role within the charity, Mike describes himself as someone who prefers to get on with things, which made receiving the award all the more unexpected.
“It’s nice to feel appreciated,” he said. “The nomination was quite touching. It’s very easy just to be the person working away in the background, so it’s good to feel valued.”
Different Strokes CEO Austin Willett said:
“Mike has been involved with the organisation for a very long time and dedicates time every month to supporting our finances. He is a hugely committed volunteer whose work could easily fly under the radar, but people like Mike are the backbone of charities like Different Strokes. His financial oversight, guidance and expertise have been invaluable over many years, and he has been a steady hand for the organisation throughout periods of growth and change. He is always on hand when advice and support are needed.”
Everyone at Different Strokes would like to congratulate Mike on this very well-deserved recognition and thank him for his years of dedication, kindness and commitment to supporting younger stroke survivors and their families.
