Co-founder of Community Links, Kevin Jenkins, 62, died on 7 April. Colin Grainger, former editor of the Newham Recorder, pays tribute to a man he describes as a “truly great person”.

Much is made of the term hero and too often today it is a label given to those who have not achieved true greatness.

But Kevin Jenkins was a hero to thousands, and it was an honour for me to have been part of his life since the day we first met to discuss the chance of creating a toy appeal to bring joy into the existence of young people and their families who would otherwise have gone without. And he deserves that honour as well as the warranted OBE bestowed on him.

There is no doubt that he touched the lives of many thousands of people in Newham and other parts of east London. Many hold him dear in their hearts for the good that he did…and with very good reason.

He changed the lives and made a real difference to the quality of life for so many underprivileged and disabled youngsters in more than 44 years of dedication to doing good.

A few years ago I took part in a feature in the Newham Recorder. One of the questions was to name a person I admired living or dead. It took me only a second to name Kevin.

When he came into the Recorder’s East Ham office to talk about launching a Christmas Toy Appeal for underprivileged youngsters 44 years ago, I was lucky enough to be chosen by my then Editor Tom Duncan to co-ordinate it. Little did I realise just how much that appeal would change the lives of so many generations of youngsters. It still does so today.

So many people have a better chance in life because of Kevin and his devoted partner Paula and their family. Through his work as co-founder with Community Links, his long service as a councillor in Newham, as founder for Ambition, Aspire, Achieve and the founder of Heritage Newham – People, Places, Progress, Kevin has been an inspiration for generations of people.

There was never any desire for praise. The glow in his cheeks came from witnessing a creation come to life, a youngster achieving a dream, an idea becoming a reality. He believed young people can achieve anything despite their background.

Everyone who knew him will be grateful for any time spent in his company. We will miss him dreadfully. He was a true great.

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