A KENDAL based charity, serving carers in the South Lakes area, has been named a winner of the 2020 Weston Charity Awards (Thurs 11 June 2020) in recognition of the importance of its current services and future ambitions.
And it could secure the future of the charity and help more people says its chief exec Mike Seaton.
The award gives the charity the chance to invest in its future with a core grant of £6,500 from the Garfield Weston Foundation and a year’s strategic planning support from a team of four business leaders, thanks to the leadership charity Pilotlight.
Carer Support South Lakes was chosen from a record field of nearly 200 applicants, all of whom are frontline charities delivering youth, welfare or community services in the North of England, the Midlands and Wales.
Mike Seaton said the win came at a critical time for the charity, he said: “We put ourselves forward for the award because it provides an incredible package of leadership support and funding. We are very ambitious about helping more carers and long into the future.
“It’s incredibly tough right now because of the Covid-19 virus which is impacting on how we support carers and our fundraising.
“As we deal with unprecedented day-to-day frontline challenges it hard to find time to plan for long-term improvements. This is exactly the sort of input we need to help make us more resilient and able to deliver more effective and efficient services,” added Mike Seaton.
In congratulating Carer Support South Lakes, Philippa Charles, director of the Garfield Weston Foundation said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the most vulnerable in our communities hard. Frontline charities such as Carer Support South Lakes are addressing increasing demands for their services with innovation, professionalism and determination; and they are doing so despite serious threats to their finances and operating models. The support and experience of the Weston Charity Awards puts charities in a really strong position to survive, adapt and thrive into the future.”
Bruce McCombie, interim chief executive of Pilotlight, the charity which is connecting Carer Support South Lakes with a team of coaches drawn from a range of businesses and other organisations said: “Carer Support South Lakes has been selected as a Weston Charity Award recipient on the strength of its ambitions and the openness of the leadership team to external perspectives – attributes that will help them benefit most from working with our Pilotlighters.”
Charities working in community, welfare and youth and with incomes under £5 million were invited to put themselves forward for the award. They needed to show that they were ambitious about making a difference to those in need and be working in the North of England, the Midlands or in Wales.
For more information about Carer Support South Lakes visit https://carersupportsouthlakes.org.uk/.
