Coventry & Warwickshire in business
Area Focus: South Warwickshire
Helping sufferers get through health difficulties By Greg Sutcliffe of Miromedia
For many years before 2016, the Bladder and Bowel Foundation provided an invaluable support to many of those suffering from bladder or bowel conditions, including our Community Director Blake Beckford. Unfortunately, in the Summer of 2016, the Bladder and Bowel Foundation had to close its doors. However, thanks to Blake and his tenacious desire to give back to the community, the Bladder and Bowel Community was founded from the ashes of its previous incarnation, and a resource that reaches hundreds of thousands of people every month was given a lifeline. The partnership between the Bladder & Bowel Community and Miromedia spans a number of years, through working relationships, but also through several fundraising efforts.
So when Blake approached Miromedia asking how best to revive the website, we saw an opportunity to not only rescue a vital resource, but to invest on behalf of the bladder and bowel community, and make sure that the website was the go to place for all stakeholders whether patients, carers, or clinicians Since the amalgamation of Miromedia and the B&BC into an ‘in-house’ relationship, the Community and website have gone from strength to strength. The dedication and effort that has gone into this regeneration has been astounding. Our team has worked tirelessly, but the driving force behind us has been the awe-inspiring Blake Beckford, backed up by Ian Hancock, Director at Miromedia. Deservedly, this humbling passion for making a difference was identified at the Touch FM Pride of Stratford Awards, where Blake and Ian were awarded Businessmen of the Year. Sadly, Blake was in hospital for surgery at the time of the ceremony, but Ian summarised the sentiment of the whole team behind the B&BC in his acceptance speech, where he described Blake as an unrelenting source of inspiration At the centre of it all is our website www.bladderandbowelfoundation.org this is the first point of contact that people have with our Community. We receive a
staggering 180,000 visitors to the website each month - an increase of 39% since we took ownership of the site. With approximately 14 million people in the UK suffering from some form of bladder and bowel condition in the UK, it’s our aim to be the place for people to come and find information. Beyond information, however, we want to be able to help in a tangible way. There’s not much, if any, joy in being diagnosed with a bladder or bowel affliction. We want to be able to create a new equilibrium between the person being diagnosed, and the condition they suffer with. We therefore create partnerships with businesses that we think offer products that can help people in living their day-to-day lives. One such example is our partnership with Silentnight. We all know sleep is imperative to health, so we thought that 20% off a new mattress and/or bed might help our Community Members sleep more soundly. Our other partners include a home-delivery health screening company, an online doctors consultancy, a vehicle finance company, nationally recognised clinical negligence lawyers, a fresh food produce delivery service, and an insurance company. If you believe your business could offer value to our highly engaged and interested audience, please get in touch with us.
Apprentices celebrated at graduation ceremony Apprentices, employers, family and friends celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2017 at WCG’s Apprenticeship Graduation and Celebration of Awards ceremony at Old Shire Hall, Warwick. The apprentices were celebrating completing a range of apprenticeships from engineering and social media to horticulture and welding at businesses large and small, local and national. The ceremony began with a drinks reception at the Grade 1 listed Old Shire Hall before guest of honour, Chris White MP, gave a keynote speech. The apprentices then took to the stage to receive their official scrolls from WCG Group Principal and CEO, Angela Joyce. Awards were also made to Outstanding Apprentices in three industry sectors. • Colin Hankinson, Apprentice in Engineering Maintenance for DHL Supply Chain won the award for Outstanding Apprentice in Engineering and Construction
• Adam Barnes, Apprentice in Production Horticulture at Cotswold Garden Flowers won the award for Outstanding Apprentice in Land-based Industries • Ella Jackson, Apprentice in Business Administration at Robert Welch won the award for Outstanding Apprentice in Service Industries Mark Treadwell, 21 from Stratford-uponAvon, was one of the apprentices graduating, and also stepped in to organise the event when a colleague was taken ill. Mark completed his Level 3 Apprenticeship in Social Media, before securing a role as Event and Marketing Assistant at WCG. Adam Barnes, 27 from Worcester was celebrating graduating from his apprenticeship in production horticulture with Cotswold Garden Flowers and also won the Outstanding Apprentice Award for Land-based Industries. Ella Jackson, 20, from Stratford-upon-Avon won the Service Industries Outstanding
School project under way
(L to R) Mike Hawley (Bursar), Bennet Carr (Headmaster), Martin Gallagher and Site Manager Graham Hill
Work is under way on a major new building at a school in Stratford-upon-Avon. Deeley Construction, part of the Coventry-based Deeley Group, is creating a new £1.5 million threestorey building at King Edward VI School that will include new classrooms, a library, a sixth form study and IT suites. The company is also converting two classrooms in the main building into laboratories and the
www.cw-chamber.co.uk
project will see the new facilities opened in the autumn. Martin Gallagher, managing director of Deeley Construction, said: “It’s been a positive start to 2017 for Deeley Construction and we are winning a great deal of repeat work as well as projects such as this where it is for a new client at competitive tender.” Bennet Carr, Headmaster, King Edward VI School, said: “This is a vital development in the evolution of the School.”
Apprentice Award. She completed her Level 2 Apprenticeship in Business Administration with Robert Welch Design in Chipping Campden. Chris White MP said: “I will continue to support such a fantastic institution and wish all those that have completed an apprenticeship every success in their future roles. They can be justifiably proud of their achievement.”
Warwick Conferences celebrates Silver award at the M&IT Awards Warwick Conferences is celebrating another year of success at the Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Awards 2017, after picking up the Silver award for Best Academic Venue. The collection of meeting venues based on the University of Warwick campus was awarded the Silver award in a category which also featured Imago, Oxford University, Robinson College Cambridge, The Moller Centre and the University of Manchester Conferences and Venues. Warwick Conferences was also shortlisted in the Best UK Management Training Centre and Best Value for Money Conference Venue categories. The awards are voted for by event organisers and readers of M&IT magazine with this year’s ceremony taking place at Battersea Evolution and attended
by more than 1,000 meetings and events professionals to reward excellence in service. Rachael Bartlett, Head of Sales and Marketing at Warwick Conferences, said: “It is an honour to receive this award, especially as it is voted for by our customers who have first-hand experience of our facilities.”
It’s cheers all round as agency Director leads the way in campaign to save village pub Leader Communications Client Services Director Lucy Boyes is the toast of her village after playing a leading role in a campaign to save their local pub from closure. As the Communications Lead for The New Inn Salvation Squad – the steering group assembled to save the pub – Lucy has been able to bring her 20 years of marketing expertise into play to raise the profile of the campaign to save the New Inn pub in Norton Lindsey, Warwickshire. Having been first established as a coaching inn in 1750, The New Inn ‘s near 270 year existence came under threat in July last year, when its owners Enterprise Inns put it up for sale on the open market exposing the pub to developer interest. The prospect of sale led Norton Lindsey residents to form the Salvation Squad, with a plan to purchase the pub for £312,500 having agreed the price with the pub’s owners. An investment share offer, crowdfunding campaign and even forming a choir to record their own version of the Christmas classic ‘The Holly and The Ivy’ were all part of the fundraising activities launched by the Salvation Squad as they set set out to achieve their target. Lucy in her role as Communications Team Leader helped create the identity, development and design of a range of marketing collateral which included the Salvation Squad website, generating publicity and raising the profile of the campaign through traditional print, broadcast and social media. She secured high profile coverage in local and regional print and broadcast media including the Coventry Telegraph, ITV Central News, BBC Coventry and Warwickshire and ITV Tonight. Lucy said: "The vision all along has been to not only save the pub but to turn it into a thriving hub for the local community. “It’s been a really positive experience to use my design and communication skills for such a worthy campaign, ensuring that the village community has a 'hub’ for all to enjoy today and for the future.” James Holden, Managing Director of Leader Communications, said: "Lucy and the whole Salvation Squad team have worked really hard to secure a key resource for the village community. The whole area owes them a very big thank you indeed.”
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