For Community & Business Partners, there is real hope that 2022 will bring a continuation of its success of last year. This sense of optimism comes after the organisation scooped two accolades in 2021, one apiece in the North West Employer Engagement Group [NWEEG] Awards and the eleventh Lancashire Business View Red Rose Awards, while chief executive Amanda Meachin became a member of The Leaders Council.
Established over 30 years ago, Community & Business Partners works with businesses in the UK and globally alongside the UK government, to help people grow their businesses, using their team of highly competent business mentors. It also works within its local community of Blackburn, Lancashire and runs projects ranging from food waste initiatives to a scrap store for schools and individuals. It was also responsible for running the local pandemic support programme, Love From Lancs.
At the NWEEG Awards, which celebrate businesses across the northwest of England for their high standards of engagement with staff, customers and stakeholders, Community & Business Partners were named the “Top Team” from a total of 33 applicants.
The award was presented to Community & Business Partners on November 11, 2021, during the NWEEG Awards ceremony held at The Monastery in Manchester.
Amanda Meachin, Community & Business Partners’ chief executive, commented: “This award means so much to the team here. Throughout the pandemic they have worked tirelessly to support businesses to survive and to help the local community too.
“Of course, they do this day in, day out, and it’s great that they have been recognised in this way”.
Operations director, Jaydee Davis, added: “We have had, like many businesses, a very tough and challenging time, we’ve seen the pressure, we’ve talked about the pressures but above all, we are so committed to helping our businesses and communities we do everything to keeping driving forward.
“We’re an 11-strong, all female team, but we also have many supporters in our business mentors and community volunteers, all who make up an integral part of our team, and this award represents their hard work too”.
At Lancashire Business View’s Red Rose Awards, Community & Business Partners successfully consolidated their success for the year by being named winners in the Corporate Social Responsibility Category. Meachin and her team were presented with the accolade at the 2021 awards ceremony in Blackpool, Lancashire, before an audience of over 1,000 business professionals.
It was following the brace of awards that Meachin joined The Leaders Council, and reflecting on a successful year, she was thrilled with the recognition of Community & Business Partners’ work on both the regional and national stage.
Meachin said: “We’re really proud to have been recognised regionally, and nationally, on three occasions. Winning the Corporate Social Responsibility Award means the world to us.
“For us, Corporate Social Responsibility isn’t something that we do as an add-on but is at the heart of every single project we engage in, and I am so pleased that this has been recognised, for our incredible team members.
“I am incredibly proud of the team. Throughout the pandemic they have worked tirelessly to support businesses to be resilient.
“We have been appointed by the Home Office as at UK’s only not-for-profit endorsing body for oversees entrepreneurs wanting to set up in the UK and we were recently awarded ISO9001, for the tenth year running, which is the international standard for a quality management system.
“We’ve also recently been engaged by the charity Rugby League Cares, who help rugby players towards the end of their careers to equip them for life after their playing career.
“All of these things are testament to the incredible team of staff, business mentors and community volunteers, without whom none of this would be possible.”
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
