Welcome to the 2019 Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire) sponsored by Jelf and A-Plan

We are delighted to announce the names of the winners the 2019 Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire) 

To read the full press release click here or scroll to bottom of page.
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Photos of the 2019 Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire)

 Feel free to use any of these in your own PR and marketing. Please make sure you mention the Local Business Charity Awards. If you need very high res versions please contact Louise directly. louise@localbusinesscharityawards.co.uk 
All images by https://www.stillmovingmedia.co.uk/
Please contact louise@localbusinesscharityawards.co.uk for high res versions for your own press and publiity

Press Release


30 August 2019

Winners announced in the 2019 Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire)

The winners of the Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire), sponsored by insurance brokers A-Plan and Jelf and with media partner the Oxford Mail were announced last night.

At an awards ceremony held at local charity Thomley, hosted by BBC Radio Oxfordshire’s Brennan Nicholls and catered for using locally sourced produce in line with the awards’ ethos of ‘Grown, Sown, Harvested and Reared’, the finalists gathered together to find out the winners.
To enter, local Oxfordshire charities had to nominate an Oxfordshire business or individual who had done an outstanding job supporting them.

There were three awards, the Jelf Award, the A-Plan Award and the Individual Award.

The finalists in the Jelf Award were:
  • Lucy Group Ltd nominated by Oxfordshire Youth
  • Oxford Castle & Prison nominated by Helen & Douglas House
  • STL Communications nominated by Special Effect

The winner of the Jelf Award was:
  • STL Communications nominated by Special Effect

STL Director Paul Ballinger who accepted the award on the night said,

‘We are thrilled and honoured to have won the Oxfordshire Local Business Charity Award and it is humbling to have been nominated by Special Effect and to be recognised by the judges.  Everyone at STL is deeply proud of the longstanding partnership with Special Effect and this unique Oxfordshire charity really does make a life-changing difference to so many disabled and disadvantaged people.’

Mike Owen, Managing Director – South, Jelf, said,
‘Brendon and his team from STL have done, and continue to do, an outstanding job supporting Special Effect; we are lucky to have such altruistic companies in our midst and we applaud them for their contributions to such a worthwhile cause. We hope the prize of £1,000 will go a little way to helping the charity continue its good work and wish them great luck for the future.’

The Finalists in the A-Plan Award were:
  • Knox & Eames nominated by Clear Sky Charity
  • Midcounties Co-operative nominated by Banburyshire Citizen Project
  • Pillow Wad nominated by Springfield Sanctuary

The winner of the A-Plan award was:
  • Mid Counties Cooperative nominated by Banburyshire Citizens Project.

Mike Large from Mid Counties Cooperative said,

‘We were really happy to receive this award for our work supporting Andy at the Banburyshire Citizens Project. It is a great cause and we were happy to help and great news that the charity will now receive a £1,000 prize.’

Andy Willis BCAv, Chairman, Banburyshire Advice Centre said

‘Our charity was delighted to hear Mike and his team at Midcounties Cooperative had won. The company is amazing in supporting our charity and other local good causes.’

Alison Atmore, Commercial Operations Manager of sponsor A-Plan said,

‘It was great to see the Mid Counties Cooperative back in the list of finalists again this year and of course to announce them as winners too. They consistently support many local charities for which we thank them. Banburyshire Citizens Project is a small charity doing important work and we’re
delighted to present them with a prize of £1,000 to help with their work.’

The Finalists in the Individual Award were:
  • Brendon Cross, STL Communications nominated by Special Effect
  • John Lubbock OBE, The Orchestra of St John, nominated by the Clear Sky Charity            
  • Keeley Dennyschene of the Hilton Garden Inn, Abingdon, nominated by Helen & Douglas House

The winner of the Individual award was:
  • Keeley Dennyschene of the Hilton Garden Inn, Abingdon, nominated by Helen & Douglas House

Described as a ‘golden-hearted super star’, Keeley got involved with Helen & Douglas house on a commercial and personal level, amongst many other things, securing 100 nights of free accommodation for parents to stay near their terminally ill children in the hospice and painting Mums’ nails in a Pamper Party put on by the hospice.

Judge in the awards and Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Brian Buchan said,
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‘Another superb awards evening, generously supported by Jelf and A-Plan. Thanks must also go to the Oxford Mail who, having been winners last year, put the full weight of their media shoulder behind the awards, giving them huge coverage in the Oxford Mail and across numerous websites, telling the stories of the charities doing great work in our county and the wonderful companies supporting them. It is this kind of cooperation that will help the awards grow each year, which we surely hope they do.  Congratulations to all who reached the finals, I think I speak for my fellow judges when I say that you gave us a very difficult job choosing a winner, but one that we were honoured to perform.’

Although nominations for the awards are now closed, charities and businesses may continue to list themselves on the free ‘Support A Local Charity’ page, which aims to match up businesses and charities in a skills and need swap. https://www.localbusinesscharityawards.co.uk/support-a-local-charity-oxfordshire.html

The awards will launch again in a few months’ time and businesses who would like to become sponsor should contact event organiser Louise Bruce on louise@localbusinesscharityawards.co.uk

ENDS                                                                                                                                     AUGUST 2019
About the Local Business Charity Awards (Oxfordshire)About Jelf
 
Jelf are experts in insurance, risk management and employee benefits. Their purpose is simple: to help businesses and individuals across the UK thrive. 
 
Founded in 1989, Jelf became part of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global leader in risk, strategy and people, in December 2015.  In January 2017, Jelf was brought together with Bluefin to create one of the UK’s leading insurance brokers for mid-size and SME companies.
 
With almost 2,900 colleagues serving over 250,000 clients, Jelf has an extensive network of regional offices; enabling its advisers to provide an expert, personal service from over 70 offices in 67 locations across the UK.
 
For more information about Jelf please visit: www.jelf.com
About A-Plan:
Established in 1963, A-Plan, the high street insurance broker, now has over 90 branches across the UK. The company provides a complete range of competitive insurance products to consumers and small businesses – from household, car, van, travel, pet, classic car and health insurance to shop, office, tradesman and fleet cover. 
A-Plan prides itself on the personal level of service it offers to the communities in which it operates, arranging insurance to meet the exact needs of its clients. As such, A-Plan deals with clients at a personal level every step of the way.
For more information about A-Plan please visit: www.aplan.co.uk
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We'd still love you to 'Support a Local Charity'

In 2019 alongside asking charities to enter the awards we will also be running a campaign called 'Support A Local Charity', encouraging local businesses to choose and support a local charity.

Since we have been running the awards, we discovered the huge difference in size and income of our local charities; some have huge budgets and large amounts of staff, experienced in applying for grants and entering awards such as ours.  Meanwhile at the other end of the scale, we have met some tiny charities made up of just a few volunteers doing their very best to make ends meet.

These smaller charities desperately need the funds and support from local businesses but sometimes don't have the time or experience to know how to ask/apply for it.  In response to this we have set up 'Support A Local Charity'. Our aim is to link up local charities with local businesses to see how they can work together. 

We understand that many companies may not have the time or numbers of staff to enter half marathons or climb mountains but they almost certainly have other skills that could benefit a small charity in just as crucial a way.  

For instance:

  • A charity may need help completing grant applications - a local firm may have staff with experience in this area that could help them.
  • A charity wants to enter the world of social media but doesn't' have the skills - a local company may offer to spend a day or afternoon with them, sharing their skills.
  • A charity would like to hold a meeting to recruit new supporters but can't afford to rent a room in a local hotel - a local company may have a boardroom they are happy to lend for the purposes.
  • A charity desperately needs a new website - a local web development company could build them one for free.

Supporting a charity does not have to be about climbing mountains and raising money, it can also be about providing more practical support.  
We will share details of the charities and firms we've put together and who knows, one day they could be entering the awards!  
For more information, to view local charities who need help and to enter your interest as a company who may help, please click here.