The finalists have been announced for the Local Business Charity Awards (Cumbria), sponsored by insurance broker Jelf.
There were three awards to enter, the Jelf Award, for charities with an income of over £200,000 a year, the Cumbrian Award for charities with an income of under £200,000 a year and the Individual Award.
To enter, charities had to nominate a Cumbrian business or individual, who had done an outstanding job supporting them. The charity who nominates the winner of either the Jelf or Cumbrian award, will receive a donation of £1,000. The winner of the Individual award will receive a weekend break to the value of £300.
In alphabetical order, the names of the finalists and the charities who nominated them are:
| Jelf Award (in alphabetical order) | |||
| Name of Company | Nominated by | Name of Charity | |
| 1 | BAE Systems | Nominated by | CADAS (Cumbria Alcohol & Drug Advisory Service) |
| 2 | Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster | Nominated by | West Cumbria Carers |
| 3 | Penrith Building Society | Nominated by | Annie Mawson’s Sunbeams Music Trust |
| 4 | The Cumberland | Nominated by | Eden Valley Hospice |
| The Cumbrian Award (in alphabetical order) | |||
| Name of Company | Nominated by | Name of Charity | |
| 1 | Balfour Beatty (BEP) | Nominated by | The Phoenix Project |
| 2 | Balfour Beatty (BEP) | Nominated by | Together We |
| 3 | Reach Out Support Ltd | Nominated by | Triple A Project |
| 4 | The Swan Inn, Cockermouth | Nominated by | Cockermouth Mechanics Brass Band |
| Finalists for the Individual Award (in alphabetical order) | ||||
| Name of Individual | Company he/she works for | Nominated by | Name of Charity | |
| 1 | Dianne Richardson | Balfour Beatty (BEP) | Nominated by | Phoenix Youth Project |
| 2 | Grant Seaton | The Cumberland | Nominated by | Jigsaw Hospice |
| 3 | Joanne Brown | LLWR Ltd | Nominated by | Hospice at Home West Cumbria |
| 4 | Nikki Iveson | Asda | Nominated by | Oak Tree Animals Charity |
Commenting on the finalists, Mark Daley, regional director at sponsor Jelf said: ‘‘Jelf have been sponsoring the Local Business Charity Awards across the UK since 2014 but this is our first year of hosting them here in Cumbria and we could not be more delighted with the response we have received. The nominations we received were humbling to read and I know I speak for my fellow judges, when I say that choosing these finalists was not an easy job. We salute all of you who were nominated but did not make it through to the finals; your hard work, dedication and commitment has not gone unnoticed. Our huge congratulations to the finalists and we look forward to seeing them later on this month to reveal the names of the winners.”
All Local Business Charity Awards finals are held in a charity and catered for by a charity. In Cumbria, the finals will be held at Annie Mawson’s Sunbeams Music Trust, Penrith on Thursday 6 June 2019. Food served on the night will be ‘The Best of Cumbria’, using only locally-grown and produced food, to reflect the very best of produce in the county.
The event will be hosted by BBC Radio Cumbria presenter, Ben Meader.
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 Cumbria in a skills and need swap. https://www.localbusinesscharityawards.co.uk/support-a-local-charity-in-cumbria.html
