BT apprentice wins BT award for her charity work
Children with special needs set to benefit from cash award
BT has rewarded a charity which supports children with special needs and their families with a grant of £700 to help it continue its good work.
The grant has been awarded through the company’s employee recognition scheme, the BT People Awards. The scheme recognises and rewards BT’s volunteering heroes, who offer their time and skills to help people in their local communities, by providing grants to organisations in which they are involved.
St Andrew Michael’s Club (SAMs), based in in Glasgow, scooped £700 in the diversity category. The funds will be used to help the charity pay for its annual trip to Yorkshire where more than 20 young people with special needs attend a residential event each year, giving them a holiday and their families respite.
The charity is based at St Andrews school in Carntyne and linked to St Michael’s church in Parkhead. It holds monthly clubs where young members can make new friends and their families can get much needed support while the young people take part in activities.
BT apprentice Nicola O’Donnell, aged 20, is in the second year of her apprenticeship in BT. The advanced apprenticeship involves Nicola designing BT’s high speed broadband links for businesses, Ethernet.
She said: “After 6th year at school I was asked to help out with the club and I’ve loved being a part of it ever since. Watching the young people grow in confidence is really rewarding. The families tell me the club really makes a difference to them. Seeing one young boy go from being shy and reclusive to speaking in front of the entire group was inspiring.
“On a trip to Flamingo Land one parent said it let her recharge her batteries knowing that her child was getting professional care. This support from BT for SAMs will let us help even more young people and their families. Being part of the BT apprenticeship scheme I’ve been able to grow and develop and volunteering with SAMs is a great way to give something back.”
In total, twelve groups in Scotland received grants worth nearly £7000 to help them continue their excellent work in the community. A full list is below.
Brendan Dick, director of BT Scotland, said: “Many of our employees contribute to the life of their communities, in a myriad of ways. The People Awards acknowledge the time and commitment that BT people across Scotland are giving to the local community groups for which they volunteer.”
UK wide, around 450 applications were received and 84 applicants received awards totalling £50,980. Applications were submitted by BT people from all over the world including Peru, India and Belgium. These included a wide range of community organisations from football clubs to police cadets to red squirrel protection, illustrating the wide variety of activities in which BT people are involved.
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
The Scottish winners are:
- Oldmeldrum Sports & Highland Games, AB51 0ES £500
• Edinburgh South FC, Gilmerton Road, EH16 5UD £700
• Bonnyrigg Rose Boys Club, EH19 3AS £500
• Inverness Skating and Ice Dance Club (Sunday Club), IV9 8RQ £500
• 9th Ratho Cub Scout Group, EH288TT £500
• Balmedie Scout Group, AB23 8WB £700
• 44th Dundee Coy Boys Brigade, DD5 2HQ £500
• Balmedie Leisure Centre, AB23 8YF £700
• Cockenzie & Port Seton Amateur Radio Club, EH32 0EE £230
• St Andrew Michael's Club (SAMs), G32 6QE £700
• Freedom of Flight, PA16 8AL £700
• Kingdom of Fife Group Advanced Motorists, KY2 6JP £700
