McDonald’s franchise is presented with prestigious award

Staff members at a McDonald’s franchise in Warwickshire have been presented with a prestigious award in recognition of their exceptional community spirit and passion for making a difference in the local area.

People Arches Limited, which runs the McDonald’s on Emscote Road bordering Warwick and Leamington, has been presented with a High Sherriff Award in recognition of its work in the community.

Colleagues attended a special awards evening at Shire Hall, in Warwick, hosted by Rajvinder Kaur Gill, Warwickshire’s High Sheriff for 2024/25, which celebrated some of the county’s unsung heroes for their outstanding dedication to making Warwickshire a better place for all.

The event saw over 30 individuals and groups presented with certificates of recognition for their work spanning community volunteering, youth engagement, faith-based service, fundraising, heritage, and social support – with People Arches being the only business presented with the High Sheriff Award for 2024/25.

At the ceremony, the team was praised for putting community at the heart of everything they do and tirelessly making a lasting impact in the local area.

Since People Arches took over the franchise in December 2023, it has become a pillar of local support through initiatives that enhance social wellbeing and foster economic growth.

Initiatives have included purchasing food to donate to the local food bank every month, environmental stewardship which has seen the team walk a combined total of 1,200 miles and collect more than 800 bags of litter in the last year alone, and supporting local causes through volunteering, with colleagues completing a total of 945 hours.

People Arches partners with Warwickshire Hearts to offer free CPR training to members of the community and holds monthly mental health pop-ups in partnership with the charity Mind.

It also contributed to Warwick’s Christmas lights ceremony, donated 64 pantomime tickets to children in care to ensure they could experience the magic of theatre during the festive period, and created a video for Warwick Town Council’s social media platforms showcasing 20 local businesses to help boost Warwick’s visitor economy over Christmas.

The award was presented to the People Arches team after Rajvinder visited the restaurant to find out more about the work they are doing in the community.

Dawood Ibtehsam, Director of People Arches Limited, said: “It was fantastic to receive this award in recognition of the work we have done.

“I have an incredible team who all work extremely hard to support our local community, and they thoroughly deserve this.

“To be the only business to receive the award this year alongside some fantastic charities, community services and organisations made it even more special for us, and we came away with a real sense of pride.

“We now want to continue our work and make even more of an impact in our community going forwards, supporting both those in need and other local businesses.

“We also hope that we can inspire other businesses to do the same. Business costs have increased significantly since April 1 this year, however this is not the time to back down. It is a time where we should try to rise to the occasion and find ways that we can support others, whatever that may look like, for the good of our community and the local economy.”