Business in the Community Award 2023
Category criteria
- This category will recognise businesses that demonstrate an impactful commitment to corporate social responsibility, including contributing to the community within which they’re based.
- Businesses can be of any size and working within any sector.
Staffordshire FA
Business in the Community entrant
Staffordshire Football Association reignited its apprenticeship scheme post-pandemic and now has two apprentices that are helping to futureproof its workforce.
The governing body for grassroots football across Staffordshire, Staffordshire FA supports a network of more than 40,000 people and 500 clubs. It has more than 8,000 volunteers and 850 officials with an employed team of just 15 people at its Stafford HQ.
The two youngest members of staff are apprentices Joe Davidson and John McGirr, who study with Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group.
Gareth Thomas, Commercial and Partnerships Lead at Staffordshire FA, said: “The recruitment of staff who meet the values of the Association had become particularly challenging, and a new approach was required to recruit individuals who were passionate about the work carried out at Staffordshire FA – which is sometimes the less glamourous, but equally important, behind-the-scenes side of working in grassroots sport.
“From the senior management team and across the entire workforce, all members of staff have fully embraced the opportunity presented by the apprenticeship programme, with staff individually upskilling the apprentices around their own respective work programmes, which has not only resulted in both apprentices gaining a board range of skills and knowledge, but has also resulted in all staff becoming more efficient as they are able confidently assign important tasks to our new members of the team. “
Both apprentices are now working front of house, alongside their college courses in Business Administration and Customer Service Practice, and are often the first point of contact for people calling or visiting Staffordshire FA.
Gareth added: “The successful outcomes from our apprenticeship programme are great credit to not only Joe and John, but also the whole team at Staffordshire FA who have fully committed to the ongoing training, development and upskilling of our two apprentices.
“With the ongoing support and in-house training from Staffordshire FA, coupled with the external support provided by the Newcastle and Stafford Colleague Group, our apprenticeship programme is a great example of developing bespoke skills for the future to benefit Staffordshire FA and subsequently local grassroots football.”
Staffordshire FA has entered the Skills For the Future and Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Phat Lads
Business in the Community entrant
A pandemic side hustle to give away a pair of football boots on Facebook has turned into a fully-fledged online business on course to turn over more than £1 million this year.
Phat Lads Competitions has thousands of online followers and founder Reece Thornton-Bate has even launched a charitable foundation on the back of his business’s success.
The 30-year-old, from Cheadle, set up Phat Lads during the height of Covid in 2020.
Three years on the company’s got its own office in Hanley, has amassed 40,000 Facebook followers (including closed group members) and 23,000 TikTok followers. It now has a team of five including Reece’s dad, Paul Bate, who is also now a shareholder of the business.
More than 1,000 people have won prizes totalling around £1 million including cars, cash, tech and toys.
In its first year of trading the company turned over £200,000, last year it was around £652,000 and Phat Lads has already exceeded last year’s turnover in the first six months of this year.
Reece’s aim is to turn over more than £2.5 million next year, which he is well on course to achieving.
Reece studied IT at Leek College and has an IT, sales and recruitment background having worked for a number of private sector companies.
He said: “Initially I set it up as a bit of fun and ran a competition to win some football boots on a Facebook page. Timing is everything I guess and because we were in lockdown people had a lot of time on their hands. The page got more popular, so I started doing more and more giveaways.
“The number of followers really grew - literally snowballing – to the point where it got big enough for me to quit my day job, closely followed by my dad who also left his full-time role to run Phat Lads with me.
“I think I knew from that very first competition, which started as a bit of fun, that it had the potential to be something really big and although some may have seen leaving a good job to go it alone as a risk. The risk has really paid off.
“Seeing the Phat Lads community grow has been fantastic. I’ve always been ambitious and wanted to use the experience I’d gained in my career to build something that I could put my name to.
“Me and Dad have got a great relationship and have lots of fun doing Facebook lives and TikTok which seems to have captured people’s imagination because we do such daft things. Hopefully we make people laugh as well as giving them the chance to win some great prizes, although we obviously always urge people to be gamble aware.
Earlier this year the Phat Lads Charitable Foundation was established after Reece and the team helped a number of people with fundraising activities and donations over the last few years. That included helping raise money for the family of a three-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent who has cancer.
Reese added: “I’ve got big expansions plans for the future and as a team we want to do all we can to rival the biggest competition websites in the country. Next year we want to be turning over £2.5 million which with the plans we have in place is achievable.”
Phat Lads has entered the Growth, Business in the Community and Team of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
The Portland Inn Project CIC
Business in the Community entrant
The Portland Inn Project CIC has raised £1.2 million towards transforming a derelict Stoke-on-Trent pub into a community-led creative arts building, with building work set to start this summer.
The CIC, led by artists Anna Francis and Rebecca Davies, currently runs a year-round calendar of cultural activity and skills development for the Portland Street area of the city centre from The Pippin, an adapted shipping container.
This includes a weekly youth club, sports sessions, a women’s group and a social enterprise to make and sell clay items including pigeons.
Based in Hanley, the Portland Inn neighbourhood is known nationally as the location where the £1 homes scheme took place and as such is an area which has seen significant regeneration schemes over the years, but is identifiably lacking in community infrastructure and has been identified as a neighbourhood with low educational attainment and high unemployment.
Anna and Rebecca want to achieve community cohesion, economic, social and cultural development by involving the community in a pioneering community space, cultural hub and creative programme. They want the social enterprise to support skills development in the neighbourhood and to ensure a sustainable income stream.
Anna, Associate Professor of Fine Art and Social Practice at Staffordshire University and alumni of the University, said: “2023 is the most exciting time for our community-led CIC as we embark on our co-created building development project and were also successful in being selected as one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations.
“We have a brilliant team of highly skilled creative professionals supporting our community to lead the change they want and need to see for our neighbourhood.
“Our programme focuses on developing skills in the community including social organising, cooking, gardening, creative making and sports. It supports long-term activity and events and helps the project and area to thrive.
“We are all about long-term sustainability and the development of core and embedded skills for the future of the project and the community.”
The Portland Inn Project employs eight permanent staff and brings in creative practitioners and specialists to share their skills.
It has been working with the neighbourhood to write and now deliver a 100-year plan for the area to help ensure the community thrives.
The Portland Inn Project won the Whitegold International Ceramics Prize in 2020, and was named Cultural Champion of the Year at the BBC Radio Stoke Make a Difference Awards in 2019.
The Portland Inn Project CIC has entered the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Emmaus North Staffs
Business in the Community entrant
Emmaus North Staffs helps around 850 households every year who are struggling with furniture poverty and saves around 300 tonnes of items from going into landfill or to the incinerator.
The independent charity, which is federated with the international Emmaus movement, has a warehouse and a charity shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, which are both open to the public and raise funds for its work.
Much of its work involves donating and delivering around £30,000 to £35,000 of items to households in furniture poverty – around 2,500 to 3,000 pieces of furniture per year.
“These items usually go to people in socially rented accommodation. Sometimes they go to people who wouldn’t have a bed to sleep in or a chair to sit on otherwise,” said John Webbe, Executive Lead of Emmaus North Staffs.
The charity was set up six years ago and has 11 members of staff and 15 to 20 regular volunteers. It’s currently looking to recruit a retail apprentice and a retail supervisor.
An Ebay selling business, based at the Emmaus warehouse, has around 1,000 items listed at any one time.
The warehouse has a woodwork studio that runs classes for adults, funded by the National Lottery.
John said: “Last year we ran classes aimed at helping people who are long term unemployed back into employment. The current classes are open to literally any adults. They’re very social and a great way of learning new skills and meeting new people.
“People can learn furniture repair skills and also learn how to make small items of furniture and items for the home, which can help to keep furniture in use and out of landfill.”
He added: “Emmaus North Staffs provides a vital service for people in the region. It helps people out of furniture poverty, equips people with wordwork and craft skills, keeps items out of landfill, provides employment and volunteering opportunities and is a great place to shop that is open to anyone.”
Emmaus North Staffs has entered the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
GivEnergy
Business in the Community entrant
The growth of Stoke-on-Trent based GivEnergy has been nothing short of exponential. Turnover has gone from under £1million in 2020 to in excess of a projected £100million in 2023.
Now the business that has only been trading for five years is ramping up its manufacturing capabilities at pace. It is building a new factory in Stoke-on-Trent that’s due to be completed in November, with plans for a second factory pending permission. The company has also bought a new factory in China to keep up with growing demand.
GivEnergy is innovating to end fuel poverty and empower energy freedom for all. Its battery storage systems allow customers to store green energy from renewables and/or from the grid via off-peak tariffs. They can then use that stored energy to cheaply and cleanly power their home or business, cutting both energy costs and carbon emissions in the process.
The company is also giving back by spending around £500,000 per year for the next three years on its not-for-profit business, GivEducation.
“We have the resource to act as a force for good, and we’re passionate about doing so,” said CEO Jason Howlett.
“It’s an exciting scenario: the more we grow, the more we give back to the community, the more we help build a sustainable future, and the more we help mitigate energy security and energy poverty concerns.”
GivEnergy wants to turn North Staffordshire into a centre of excellence for the renewables industry. As part of this, it’s giving back to the communities it serves through continued physical investment. For example, the company has recently brought life back to an abandoned three-story office in Newcastle-under-Lyme – purchasing the property and transforming it into a sustainable HQ that’s completely powered by renewable energy.
“As well as creating new jobs and opportunities for career progression, we also help get people into the work in the first instance, through apprenticeships and graduate schemes,” said Jason. “It’s about giving everyone a chance, no matter what their background.”
Now GivEnergy has entered four categories in the Staffordshire University Business Awards – Business of the Year, Innovation, Growth and Business in the Community.
Affordable Food Stoke
Business in the Community entrant
The idea for Affordable Food Stoke originated in late 2016 and is the result of founders Duane and Nikki Barrett’s desire to have a positive impact in Stoke-on-Trent.
They are passionate about reducing food waste and supporting communities. Now a registered charity, Blurton-based Affordable Food Stoke has a request for an emergency food parcel every 90 minutes.
Duane Barrett, who is Staffordshire University alumni, said: “At Affordable Food Stoke we want to make a difference, believing we are part of a great city, a city of potential, a city of good people who have fallen on hard times, and through our own lived experiences, obstacles and challenges we have been able to connect with the local community, showing a humility and empathy that brings us all together.
“When we were granted registered charity status in 2021 we wanted this togetherness to grow and one of the ways we were able to nurture this connection was to ensure our trustees were made up of local community members. Some of whom volunteered for us, and some that used our services, thus allowing us a clear link to the community.
“Success can only be achieved if we are people led, ensuring the community are at the centre of the decision-making process, and the heart of everything we do.”
The Affordable Food Stoke free food section started with a small vegetable rack filled with just a few items. Duane and Nikki noticed more and more people accessing this service and actively asking for more as they were openly struggling with food insecurity issues.
To support the growth of the free food section they now partner with FareShare, Neighbourly, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Booker. They have volunteers dedicated to collecting surplus food from various supermarkets which ensures there is always something available to those that need it the next day.
An average 200 people a week access this service quoting reasons such as food insecurity, financial struggles, family reasons or simply wanting to support the reduction of food waste.
They currently collect from 12 organisations and since February 2022 Affordable Food Stoke has collected, sorted and circulated more than 22,385kg of food, the equivalent of 67,650 meals, saving 90,920kg of CO2 emissions.
Affordable Food Stoke has entered the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
The Old Hall Country House
Business in the Community entrant
Simon and Gary’s White’s home is not only their business it’s also a hub of the community and a regular venue for charity events.
The couple, who are both Newcastle-under-Lyme borough councillors, bought The Old Hall Country House in Madeley in 2007.
They substantially but sympathetically renovated both the interior and exterior of the 16th Century building before deciding to open it as a luxury bed and breakfast. They later expanded their offering to add a boutique wedding business.
“The business is also our home and we are both borough councillors and treat our home as the heart of everything we do,” said Simon, who is currently Mayor Elect for Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Simon and Gary regularly host open garden and house charity events and allow the local community to use the grounds and gardens for their own fundraising. More than £10,000 has been raised during the last five years for charities including The Dougie Mac, MacMillan and The Tri Service and Veteran Support Centre. Simon and Gary have an annual fundraising event and have also supported their local GP practice’s fund a number of times.
They held a charity ball at Keele Hall in October 2022 in aid of The Academy for Theatre Arts in Bradwell which raised £16,000.
The business has grown over the years and has welcomed many famous people through its doors including Mel C from The Spice Girls when she was performing at Keele University Students Union, Theo Paphitis from Dragons’ Den and the actress Sherrie Hewson. Guests have also included the Chinese Ambassador and the cast of Most Haunted, who took over the venue while filming locally.
The Old Hall Country House has entered the Staffordshire University Business Awards in the Business in the Community and the Small Business of the Year categories.
AEDdonate
Business in the Community entrant
Staffordshire-based AEDdonate was set up in 2014 by a firefighter determined to do whatever he could to improve the outcomes of sudden cardiac arrest.
Fast forward to 2023 and it has facilitated more than 4,500 lifesaving defibrillators around the UK and Jamie Richards has left his role with the fire service to focus on being the charity’s CEO, including setting up three charity shops and a donation centre.
“At AEDdonate our mission is to help communities protect themselves against sudden cardiac arrest,” said Jamie.
“Defibrillators should be available to all communities, and our charity promises to provide them. As champions of our community, we pledge our support from the beginning.
“We can all play a role in the fight to prevent lives lost to sudden cardiac arrest. Let's work together to keep more families together. Regardless of how big or small our contribution might be, we can all make a difference.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest kills around 100,000 people every year in the UK.
AEDdonate is committed to improving survival from out of hospital cardiac arrests by supporting the placement and use of automated external defibrillators (AED) to local communities.
It achieves this by giving communities the opportunity to fundraise or purchase an AED which can then be registered with the local ambulance trust for use in an emergency.
Amber Mottershead, AEDdonate’s charity development officer, said: “In 2023 we aim to partner with as many businesses as we can with the objective to increase awareness around sudden cardiac arrest, CPR, basic life support and defibrillator training within local communities and workplaces. We can ultimately work together to save lives.
“As a charity we pride ourselves on the in-depth service that we provide to ensure that all people, of any ability, are comfortable enough to be able to save a life if they should need to.”
The charity’s objectives over the next three years are to continue to put defibrillators into communities nationally with the aim of placing 1,500 defibrillators per year.
AEDdonate has entered the Staffordshire University Business Awards in the Business in the Community and Small Business of the Year categories.
Holdcroft Heating and Gas Fitting Limited
Business in the Community entrant
Holdcroft Heating and Gas Fitting is committed to contributing to the communities it works with, including raising £30,000 for charity to mark its 30th year in business.
Founded in 1989 by Stephen and Tina Holdcroft, the business provides gas and renewable services to families across Staffordshire and Cheshire.
It has enjoyed regular growth since being set up at the family dining table in Sneyd Green and now employs 38 people working out of its premises in Moorland Road, Burslem.
Stephen and Tina include corporate social responsibility in all aspects of their business.
Tina said: “Our team, at all levels, are encouraged to develop and grow their skills. Additionally, we offer a range of volunteering opportunities including training to help local people develop their skills and confidence to obtain employment.
“We are proud to have always supported educational initiatives for students and apprentices from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.”
To date Holdcroft Heating has created opportunities for 63 apprentices from the local community as well as helping source funding for its young learners to have driving lessons to encourage autonomy, independence and freedom.
“We are committed to improving opportunities for groups who are under-represented in the workforce to help foster local involvement and enterprise in our community. We are believers in leading by example and hold ourselves to the high standards we expect from others.”
Holdcroft Heating shares its expertise, training and resources with partner organisations so they can support individuals with a wider range of issues. This includes open days for school leavers in its on-site Worcester-Bosch accredited training facility as well as training days for Unitas Stoke, Weaver Vale Housing Trust, Beat the Cold, Staffordshire Housing and their local volunteers on energy saving, understanding energy bills and boiler basic tips.
The business recognises its responsibility as an environmentally sustainable company and aims to minimise any potentially negative impact of the business on the environment.
This includes reducing waste and consumption. Currently 95% of installation waste is recycled. They are working towards 100% on every installation. Energy efficient vehicles are used and the team promotes public transport where possible by offering free, accessible, energy saving advice to all customers on every installation.
In 2020 Holdcroft Heating was awarded Worcester-Bosch Environment Green Contractor of the Year. The team is now working towards PAS 2060 carbon neutral certification.
In 2019 Holdcroft Heating celebrated its 30-year anniversary. To mark this achievement it organised and completed a series of fundraising events and successfully raised £30,000 for five local charities; Dougie Mac, Donna Louise, Realise Charity, Alice Charity and North Staffs Mind.
During lockdown Holdcroft Heating teamed up with local businesses to help to raise spirits and protect community mental health through a series of artistic projects.
Working with Stephen and Tina’s local supermarket, Nisa Local Brown Edge, Holdcroft Heating asked the children of Brown Edge to create their happy memories of lockdown using clay.
Fenton-based Valentines Clay provided the materials, local artist Emma Bailey painted the creations, PM Training designed and made the sculpture base and Graphix and Holdcroft Heating paid for the encasement of glass. The sculpture is positioned in a community garden and is continuing to make people smile.
Holdcroft Heating also worked with Our Burslem to engage neighbours to create a mural for its office shutters in Burslem.
Tina said: “This was done through the Our Burslem Facebook page where we asked the local community to share things that had made them smile during lockdown. The response was amazing.
“All these ideas were collated and turned into a beautiful work of art by the talented artists from We are Culla.”
In celebration of the first Remembrance Sunday following the end of social distancing restrictions, Tina teamed up with volunteers to raise funds for the Tri Services and Veterans Support Centre by organising a Bake Off fundraiser where they raised £595.
During lockdown Tina joined forces with Stoke-on-Trent City Councillor Lilian Dodd to set up a charity to support young people in the transition to independence after leaving the care system in North Staffordshire.
Symmetrical North Staffs was born and Lilian and Tina have been overwhelmed with the support of businesses to ensure young care leavers receive a Christmas gift box, cleaning hampers and first store cupboard shop hampers.
VAST
Business in the Community entrant
As the local infrastructure support organisation for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Stoke-on-Trent, VAST supports more than 1,500 organisations.
It enables groups to deliver high quality services to local communities and to not only survive but to thrive.
During the pandemic it worked with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to put in place systems and support ensuring communities had the help they needed and that no one was left vulnerable and isolated.
In the week before lockdown VAST developed and launched a web portal where individuals or organisations needing or offering support could register. Requests for support were managed in conjunction with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
VAST also worked to ensure organisations had enough volunteers and were aware of any extra resources available to them. The team worked tirelessly with all the individuals submitting offers of help to place them in appropriate volunteering roles as well as ensuring the website was constantly updated with the most current information.
During the various lockdowns the Stoke-on-Trent Together network received more than 25,000 requests for support from individuals, provided almost 5,000 food parcels in the initial lockdown period and placed almost 400 volunteers.
VAST also worked with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across Stoke-on-Trent to establish the effect the pandemic was having on the sector both in terms of extra demand on capacity and in lost financial resources and campaigned both locally with the city council and nationally to ensure the vital resource needed could be made available to the sector.
VAST saw that they were ideally placed to support the sector through inevitable increased demand once lockdown was over and communities needed to adapt to the new normal, facing whatever personal and economic hardships that may bring.
Prior to the pandemic VAST had lost funding from both Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council and was surviving on self-generated income and project funding. The start of the pandemic coincided with the recent appointment of Lisa Healings as VAST’s new Chief Executive. As the pandemic swept the country Lisa and the team stepped forward to co-ordinate the local voluntary, community and social erterprise response and to forge new relationships with the city council.
VAST is now recognised and funded as a strategic partner of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, working alongside thecouncil for the good of the local community.
The VAST team work tirelessly to ensure local organisations have capacity to meet demands placed on them and have appropriate volunteering practices to meet the needs of their beneficiaries as well as working with individuals who want to volunteer to find fulfilling roles.
As the cost-of-living crisis escalated VAST once again stepped up and quickly redeveloped the website as a one-stop-shop for support and advice to the community. VAST were key partners in a new Stronger Together Through Winter Partnership and worked to support front-line charities to ensure they had the capacity to deliver in the face of increasing demand.
VAST supported the establishment of a network of Welcoming Spaces across Stoke-on-Trent. This is a network of community venues providing warm safe spaces, hot food and drinks and advice and support.
There are almost 70 Welcoming Spaces in the city and the VAST team work closely with them even producing a Welcoming Spaces Guide to ensure they can operate safely and effectively.
VAST have also been closely involved in supporting the local Ukrainian Refugee Network (a network of organisations supporting Ukrainian refugees) and supported the city council in working with refugees housed in local hotels.
VAST is currently working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council on a project aiming to identify gaps in social care provision to bring information, advice, and social care services to people in their local community through a series of community lounges.
VAST continues to be reactive and responsive to whatever situations arise.
Its Totally Stoked project is built on the ethos that everyone has something to give and it uses networks to share information and skills as well as matching donated items, including computer equipment, with those that need it most. Alongside this it brokers volunteering opportunities and supports organisations that rely on volunteers to help them function. VAST is currently developing a local volunteering quality standard and exploring funding opportunities for more inclusive volunteering projects.
VAST has been in existence for more than 100 years and was registered as a charitable company in 1986.
Lisa Healings said: “It is impossible to predict what the future will bring in the current fast-moving world but VAST will continue to provide the support, volunteering, advocacy and voice and partnership opportunities that the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector needs to not only survive but to thrive.”
Now VAST has entered the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
First Class Technologies
Business in the Community entrant
A Staffordshire IT company has donated hundreds of hours of staff time to refurbish laptops and tablets for people in need.
First Class Technologies has repurposed 250 devices to date and raised more than £2,000 for charity through fundraising events.
The Lichfield-based company has been nominated in the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards by The Community Foundation for Staffordshire.
Faye Williams, Business Development Manager at the community foundation, said: “This is a great company supporting all manner of businesses, but especially schools and education establishments.
“Aside from the day job of IT support and Cloud services, this company has been helping The Community Foundation with Staffordshire County Council’s Donate IT scheme to benefit those who are digitally excluded and thus preventing isolation, helping with home learning, managing finances, shopping, job applications and health care.
“First Class restores equipment that has been donated through the scheme and has given hundreds of hours which is not part of its usual work but is doing this to benefit people in need in our communities.
“The services First Class Technologies provides to its customers are enabling future generations to be technically equipped for the dynamic world of employment.”
The company was founded in 1997 by Richard Hinton and currently has seven staff and an annual turnover of around £1million. It has been working with the community foundation for several years.
Richard said: “First Class take our social responsibility seriously and always look for opportunities to support the local community. We are conscious of the impact on all aspects of society, including economic, social and environmental.”
To date the company has repurposed around 250 tech devices, totalling around 175 working hours.
The laptops and tablets are cleaned, evaluated, restored to factory settings and repaired before being returned to Staffordshire County Council to be given out to needy families and voluntary groups.
In 2021 Richard and his team organised a classic car tour which took 70 cars on a route around Cannock Chase and raised more than £1,000 for The Community Foundation for Staffordshire. The event is being staged again in June.
A charity quiz in 2022, to mark the company’s 25th year of trading, also raised more than £1,000 for the community foundation.
GDance Academy
Business in the Community entrant
A dance academy set up by a Staffordshire University alumna aims to give back to the community where it’s based.
Connie Gibson, who studied for a PGCE at the University, set up GDance Academy in 2019.
When the pandemic stopped her in-person classes the following year she moved online, offering free Zoom dance sessions to keep people active.
Connie, who has an undergraduate degree in musical theatre, runs dance classes in Cheslyn Hay and Hatherton for pupils aged from three to 22 years.
She said: “We aim to support and encourage all students to reach their full dance potential, while maintaining a safe and fun environment where individuality and unique personality is encouraged.
“We compete competitively and perform in yearly shows to showcase what we have achieved throughout the year.”
The dance school is affiliated with the United Dance Organisation and completes an exam syllabus provided by them. Pupils also learn higher skills such as flips, tricks, flexibility and stunts.
“We want to bring a wow factor to our routines,” says Connie. “We’ve performed for audiences at Lower Drayton Farm’s Halloween event to bring a bit of fun to the community.
“During the lockdown we did free Zoom sessions that anyone could get involved in to keep them active and social. We had up to 18 people taking part in those at any one time.
“During the school holidays we do boot camps that include fun sports day activities, arts and crafts and team building skills. At GDance Academy we love everyone and our doors are always open.”
Now GDance Academy has entered the Business in the Community category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
The Globe Group CIC
Business in the Community entrant
The Managing Director of a marketing firm set up a not-for-profit after her eyes were opened to environmental issues by working on campaigns for the likes of Vinted.
The Globe Group CIC is a non-profit environmental organisation intended to mitigate the impacts of modern-day living on the climate.
It champions education and action through collaboration and works with industry, community, academia and local government.
Set up in 2018 by founder and Managing Director Kate Copeland, it is based in a former mill in Uttoxeter.
The team of four project staff are supported by 24 volunteers in activities ranging from litter picks, a zero waste shop and repair shops to running climate and sustainability conferences.
Kate said: ““As a Staffordshire resident, I was becoming incredibly frustrated at the lack of grassroots community support for climate change. So after some grumbling and self-reflection I took the plunge, left my day job and started The Globe Group CIC.
“Since then we have been able to develop a thriving community eco centre, a successful volunteer programme and rapidly expand the impact of our climate action projects.
“I’m so proud of how Globe has grown and look forward to the next five years as we continue to tackle the net zero agenda.”
Before setting up The Globe Group Kate was the Managing Director of a marketing firm where she worked on campaigns including Love Your Clothes and Love Food Hate Waste. It was this work that opened her eyes to the issues of sustainability and climate change.
She organised a litter pick with six people followed by a community consultation to better understand local needs. It was community feedback that helped her develop the eco centre idea.
The team support communities and businesses in building climate resilience, skills and activities with the aim of making communities more robust and futureproofing the systems that support them.
The CIC’s board includes representation from well-known national and global industry brands, academia and the community, with the hope of enabling upscaled regional climate support into Staffordshire and the wider area.
Partners have included Keele University, Make Some Noise, The Climate Coalition, Uttoxeter Town Council, Birmingham City University, East Staffordshire Borough Council, Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, NatWest and many more.
Now The Globe Group CIC has entered the Business in the Community, Small Business of the Year and Team of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.