Oct 14, 2013 00:00 BST BT Volunteers win support for community groups in and the Humber

Grants of up to £500 awarded to local groups BT is rewarding organisations and community groups across with grants of up to £500.

The grants are being awarded through the company’s employee recognition scheme, the BT People Awards, which were launched last year. The scheme acknowledges BT’s volunteering heroes, who offer their time and skills to help people in their local community, by providing grants to organisations in which they are involved.

Thirteen groups in Yorkshire and the Humber have received grants of £200 to enable them to continue their excellent work in the community, including: Monk Fryston JFC in Burton Salmon, Harthill Pre-School in

Sheffield and Kippax Amateur Swimming Club in Kippax.

Yorkshire Cancer Research in beat off national competition to achieve runner up in the Fundraising category and an award of £500. The Friends of North Cave School Committee in East Riding was also awarded £500 as runner up in the Improving Education category. A detailed list of the winning groups is below.

Tom Keeney, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “The People Awards really highlight the time and commitment that BT people are giving to their communities and provide a great opportunity to reward their community group or charity for their volunteering.”

Joe McDavid, a BT Human Resources director, said: “BT has a long history of working with good causes to help improve lives. Together with our employees, we have a record of fundraising and support for our local community groups that we can be proud of. It’s also wonderful to see so many BT people using their professional skills to support such a diverse mix of community organisations and charities. We see volunteering as a two-way benefit as there are many development opportunities when new skills are brought back into the workplace. Some of these experiences can only be gained by playing such an active role in the local community.”

Two hundred and twenty four applications were received for the first round of grants this year and 174 applicants received awards totalling £50,000.

Applications were submitted by BT people from all over the world including Switzerland and Malaysia. These included a wide range of community organisations, from a children’s theatre to a pipe band illustrating the wide variety of activities BT people are involved with.

For more information and to see a complete list of the latest award recipients please visit: www.btpeopleawards.co.uk or see what BT can do to help charities by visiting:www.bt.com/charityportfolio.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Yorkshire and Humber winners are: • Friends of North Cave School Committee, North Cave, HU15 2LA £500 • Monk Fryston JFC, Burton Salmon, LS25 5NE £200 • Methley Warriors ARLFC, Leeds, LS26 9EB £200 • Elvington Harriers, Elvington, YO41 4BD £200 • Junior Football Club, Bedale, DL8 2PN £200 • Harthill Pre-School, Sheffield, S26 7YH £200 • Valley Knights JFC, Wath upon Dearne, S63 7BN £200 • Misson Pre-School, Doncaster, DN10 6EG £200 • Dearne Valley Bulldogs ARLFC Juniors, Wath upon Dearne, S63 7TR £200 • Horsforth St. Margaret's JFC, Horsforth, LS18 5SB £200 • Hall Green United JFC, Wakefield, WF4 3LA £200 • Wetherby Athletic Junior Football Club, Wetherby, LS22 5HA £200 • Kippax Amateur Swimming Club, Kippax, LS25 7NW £200 • BPA Juniors FC, Bradford, BD10 9RD £200 • Yorkshire Cancer Research, Harrogate, HG1 5LQ £500

BT People Awards For further information please contact the BT People Awards Press Office on 0845 257 6792 or the regional BT press office on 0800 085 0660. About BT

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