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National award for Bolton Family
A group of more than 40 local organisations have been praised at a national awards ceremony for working together to make a difference to communities in Bolton.
The Bolton Family – made up of business, housing, regeneration and voluntary sector organisations – won a top award at last night’s Responsible Business Awards 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The group won the Connected Places Award which recognises businesses working in partnership to address long-term social, economic and environmental needs.
The work of the Bolton Family is estimated to have directly benefitted more than 10,000 people in Bolton with another 30,000 people experiencing the knock-on benefits.
Vanessa Barlow, chair of the board for Bolton Family, said: “The Responsible Business Awards are incredibly tough to win as they reward initiatives that happen right across the UK and include projects managed by nationally and internationally recognised businesses and brands.
“We’re tremendously proud to bring an award home to Bolton for the work we do here. It shows what’s possible when we have lots of organisations working together for the good of Bolton. By co-ordinating our efforts, we can make a much bigger difference to our communities.”
The Bolton Family is made up of local businesses including Warburtons, Seddon, Barkers and Keogh Solicitors; organisations like Bolton Council, Bolton at Home and Greater Manchester mental health services; and charities and social enterprises including Urban Outreach, Bolton CVS, the Woodland Trust, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Octagon Theatre.
Successful partnership initiatives delivered through the Bolton Family include:
Seddy Bears Picnic – Seddon hosts an event for guests identified by Urban Outreach from their BL Summer Lunches project, which provides free packed lunches for schoolchildren during the summer holidays. The event offers local families advice on healthy eating and companies such as Asda and Warburtons provide healthy goody bags.
Skills for Employment – Bolton Council helps to secure work experience placements for unemployed people over an eight-week period, with companies like Seddon and Keogh Solicitors offering them work opportunities.
Working Wardrobe – Bolton at Home supports unemployed people with employment mentoring and suitable clothing for interviews and starting work. Bolton Family members such as Barkers, Life-Scape and AFG Law offer opportunities to people who are ready to work.
Planting trees - members of the Bolton Family have supported the Woodland Trust in planting 28,000 trees on the moorlands of Bolton and will be doing more this autumn.
Other Bolton Family initiatives include regular food bank collections, Christmas hamper collections, buy local week, and the ‘bed every night’ scheme to help people in crisis to stay off the streets and have a warm, safe place to sleep.
Attended by over 1,000 guests, The Responsible Business Awards are organised by Business in the Community one of the Prince’s Charities supported by Charles, Prince of Wales.
They are the UK’s longest-running and most prestigious awards championing responsible business in the UK and abroad.