Eye on Cover Story
Bank of Ireland Begin Together Awards 2020 Recognising the spirit of enterprise It’s all about community, partnership, passion and ambition Niall Devlin, Head of Business Banking Northern Ireland
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arlier this year, Bank of Ireland launched The Bank of Ireland Begin Together Awards, for the first time in Northern Ireland. In recognition of the spirit of enterprise and with a prize fund of £180,000, the Awards were designed to bring business and community groups together and to support towns locally and across the island of Ireland as they reboot and recover from the impact of COVID-19. The enormity of the challenge has been met with incredible tenacity, stoicism, innovation and as many of our proud award recipients will testify – a unity of purpose with people giving generously of their time and their talent for the wider good and benefit of those most in need. Here we share three Northern Ireland Begin Together Award success stories. Excellent collaboration, exceptional endeavour and a consistency of approach were among the qualities that impressed the judges about Newry, winner of the City Award and a prize of £9,000. Eamonn Connolly, Manager, Newry Business Improvement District (BID), which leads and coordinates the activity, says: “We’re a private company that in five years has secured 600 members who range in size from sole traders to multi-million pound businesses. “To do what we do, we collaborate with a broad church
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of organisations including community groups, charities, local and central government, the education and private sectors. We’re united in our determination to solve problems, leverage investment and create a safe, friendly and enjoyable city in which to live, work and do business.” Their business plan is the result of considerable research and consultation with members to ensure their needs are being met. Notable successes to date include regenerating civic pride with cleaner streets; securing a reduction in business rates; retaining CCTV in public spaces and providing 300 car parking spaces in the city centre. The city responded swiftly to the onset of the CV19 pandemic with a range of initiatives to ensure the public could shop safely and with confidence – measures included virtual training for members around safety, additional cleansing, bio-fogging and signage. Now, as they prepare to meet pent up retail demand in the approach to the festive season, once again the city will come together and work to deliver a safe and managed but wholly enjoyable experience for shoppers. The judges also liked Newry’s Smart VIP Fob, an innovative, loyalty-based system developed in partnership with a local IT company as a way to encourage footfall into the city. The free fob gives local shoppers discounts
and offers directly to their phone. The project was well received at launch and provides valuable data back to members. Eamonn concludes: “We were delighted to be given the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Award. It’s welcome validation of what we have been doing, it raises the profile of our work and it gives us the impetus to continue to speak with one voice for the continuous development and improvement of Newry city.” Dromore-based organisation Via Wings is the winner of this year’s special ‘Local Community Enterprise Initiative’ category, and a prize of £9,000. The sign outside their premises says ‘Meeting Needs, Changing Lives,’ and that is exactly what it has been doing since it was founded by Gail Redmond in 2009 with the aim of breaking the cycle of poverty in the local community. An early focus on the needs of single mums via their Food Bag Project provided caring, non-judgmental, practical help and the blueprint for their organisations way forward. More than a decade on, Via Wings provides a ‘wrap-around’ service for people of all ages in the community, including fresh food and essentials to those in need, childcare, after schools club; a pensioners supper club; teaching adults with learning difficulties; and counselling to help with mental health issues, crisis or addiction.
Much of what Via Wings does is enabled by the relationships they have forged and support they receive from others in the area including local churches, schools, food retailers and the wider community. The team also works closely with local politicians, health professionals, businesses and crucially local people, many of whom have been helped by Via Wings and now volunteer there. As Lynda Surgenor, Via Wings PR & Marketing Administrator says: “We couldn’t do what we do without them.” During the pandemic, Via Wings became a vital food distribution centre for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. CV19 also stopped ‘business as usual’ but vital services were kept alive by doing things differently, such as providing care to the elderly over the phone rather than in person, and socially distanced chats for adults with learning difficulties – to battle the isolation that CV19 threatened so many with. Fundraising also stopped. The Bank of Ireland Begin Together Award has provided a much-needed financial cushion for Via Wings’ work. It has also raised their profile which has helped to strengthen and build connections with people and organisations across NI who can help and support their work in some way and give them a platform to talk about their vision and ambition for the organization and the people it supports. The award also provided a timely morale boost for the team after months of extraordinary long hours and hard work.