Caravan announces grocery industry achievement winners

Wednesday, 26 November 2008

The judging for this year's inaugural Caravan Achievement Awards has come to an end and the charity is proud to announce that a total of 94 companies received an award or supporters certificate, with eight companies awarded a prestigious and much sought after Gold award.

The Caravan Achievement Awards are a brand new initiative designed to provide public recognition to those companies who actively support the charity. The awards recognise that support for Caravan comes in many forms and is not always related purely to financial donations.

Caravan has already, in the first year of the awards, seen a noticeable increase in support for its work. In particular the Young Managers Committee has seen its numbers grow and this has allowed a separate Northern branch, based in Leeds, to be set up.

The Young Mangers South Committee held their Annual Olympians Ball in August, with lots of new companies and faces attending with a record £26k raised for Caravan. The same month, Caravan said it is opening a new branch in Yorkshire.

The judges for this year's inaugural awards were drawn from the very best of the UK retail industry.

From past presidents of the charity itself, to industry bodies, high profile supporters and beyond, each of the judges had a singular vision - to accurately reflect the current support across the industry for Caravan, as well as recognising and rewarding those who go above and beyond the call of duty.

Chairman of the Judges, Tony Pearce, retired Sales Director for Birds Eye/Walls, says that they discovered some genuinely interesting facts, "One of the big surprises was that until they collated all of the support they give Caravan into one place, some businesses didn't realise quite how supportive they were.

"People sometimes forget that it isn't simply about financial donations, committing time and energy is just as important and allows smaller, local businesses to achieve recognition on a similar level as some of the bigger blue chip companies."

Gillian Barker, Caravan Director General comments; "I know that a huge amount of work and a lot of time has been spent on the support for Caravan across the business, and I would like to extend my personal thanks to those involved for the time they give up to support this great cause.

"They are a credit to our business and the industry overall.

"Thank you again to everyone who has taken part in any activity, been to a meeting or helped in any way this year. You can feel proud that you have helped your company achieve such prestigious recognition, as well as helping improve the lives of Caravan beneficiaries."

Source: Caravan