Charity awards revealed by NICVA
Howard Lake | 2 October 2006 | News
BJM, a firm of Chartered Accountants in Gordon Street, Belfast, has won the main Link award 2006 for its work with SPEAC (Special Provision for the Education of Autistic Children). The Link Awards are organised by the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action to recognise support for the charity sector.
The Link awards were set up to recognise and promote good partnerships between charities and the business sector. Since then the charity Oscars have expanded to take in statutory bodies, schools, colleges, clubs and societies.
Overall winner BJM has a special interest in autism because managing partner, Brendan McGinn’s child has the condition. He paid for help for his own child but was inspired to help others who could not afford it. Mr McGinn has been the main driver in raising £160,000 to provide extra resources for a special centre run by the South Eastern Education and Library Board at Tor Bank.
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The Large charity category was won by Banbridge-based Gordons Chemists for its financial and practical support for Ulster Cancer Foundation’s Pink Link breast cancer awareness campaign and its Care in the Sun promotion to highlight the danger of sunburn.
Bank of Ireland held a vote of all staff to decide its charity of the year and Childline won by a huge majority. They agreed an ambitious target of raising £90,000 but broke the barrier and went on to collect £110,000.
In return for a lot of rubbish, RFD Beaufort took the small charity award. The Dunmurray company sorts and saves waste material every week and gives it to Play Resource which recycles it and passes it on to children’s projects and playgroups all over Northern Ireland for play and education. Some of the waste has been turned into artwork which is presented back to the company.
Link has an award for innovation which went this year to Marks and Spencer, nominated by Gingerbread. It has developed a special programme of training and work experience in its stores for lone parents, helping them to take a step into employment.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.