THE Northamptonshire Community Foundation have announced that they are working in continued partnership with AVON to deliver the Inspirational Woman Award for the second year running.
To celebrate 100 years since women won the right to vote, Northamptonshire Community Foundation partnered with AVON to pilot the Inspirational Woman Award at the Northamptonshire Community Foundation Annual Awards 2018, with AVON kindly agreeing to sponsor the award at this year’s ceremony.
AVON launched the highly successful Fund for Women and Girls with Northamptonshire Community Foundation in 2016 as part of a longstanding commitment to supporting local community groups in the county.
To date, the fund has awarded more than £25,000 to nine local project groups, helping to support vulnerable women and raise awareness of violence against women and girls. The fund also supports women and girls in sport across Northamptonshire.
The Inspirational Woman Award is open to women who are either staff or volunteers of groups previously funded by the AVON Fund for Women and Girls, who had made outstanding contributions to their respective groups and who had made a difference to the lives of the women and girls their group supports.
The 2018 shortlisted finalists were:
Christine Morgan of EVE – Christine is the CEO of EVE and has sole responsibility for fundraising for the organisation. EVE works with women and families who are survivors or victims of domestic abuse. In her first 18 months, Christine raised £1 million to secure the organisation’s future.
Charney Hillier of Free 2 Talk CIC – Charney is a youth support worker and has developed strong relationships with a wide variety of young people. Free 2 Talk aims to benefit the local community with a strong focus on disadvantaged young people.
Suzanne Wright of Breast Friends Northampton – Breast Friends Northampton helps to minimise the fear and isolation of cancer. Suzanne was originally a service user after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer. She soon joined the committee and remains determined to empower women in Northamptonshire who are living with cancer to reclaim, improve and maintain their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Katie Twine of Northampton Gymnastics Academy – Katie is the head of the recreational programme at Northampton Gymnastics Academy as well as being the lead female coach. The group aims to provide a fun, social and healthy environment to as many members of the local community as possible with no prejudice to age, ethnicity, gender, disability or religion. Katie has set up a variety of female gymnastics classes and regularly gives up her own free time planning sessions and coaching members at competitions across the country.
The overall award winner was Suzanne Wright, whose group received a donation of £1000 from AVON. The remaining three finalists were very deservingly recognised as highly commended, with a donation of £300 to each of their respective groups.
Speaking of their continued support, UK General Manager AVON UK, Matthieu Comard said: “It was so hard to judge this award, with so many worthy winners in the running. Suzanne Wright has supported a cause very close to the heart of AVON, making a real difference to women in Northamptonshire who are living with breast cancer. It’s a pleasure to hand over this award to a woman who continues to inspire and support women who need it most.”
To find out more about the work of Northamptonshire Community Foundation, visit www.ncf.uk.com/