BT Volunteers win support for community groups in the East Midlands

Grants of up to £500 awarded to local groups 

BT is rewarding organisations and community groups across the East Midlands 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. 
Ten groups in the East Midlands have received grants to help them to continue their work in the community, including Tintwistle Cricket Club in Tintwistle, 1st Welford Scout Group in Welford, Albert Village Junior FC in Swadlincote and North Notts Deaf Children’s Group in Mansfield. A detailed list of the winning groups is below. 
Owen Moody, BT’s East Midlands regional director, said: “The People Awards highlight the time and commitment that BT people are giving to their communities and provide a great opportunity to reward the community group or charity for which they volunteer.” 
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 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 
NOTE TO EDITORS: 
The East Midlands winners are: 
• North Notts Deaf Children's Group, Mansfield, NG19 6HG £500 
• Bingham Town Youth Football Club, Bingham, NG13 8GG £200 
• West Bridgford Rugby Club, West Bridgford, NG2 6GF £200 
• Albert Village Junior FC, Swadlincote, DE11 8EN £200 
• Tintwistle Cricket Club, Tintwistle, SK13 1LU £200 
• Byfield Tigers Junior FC, Byfield, NN11 6US £200 
• Kettering Mini and Junior Rugby Club, Kettering, NN15 6NT £200 
• FC Aztec Youth Football Development, Rothwell, NN14 6EB £200 
• 1st Welford Scout Group, Welford, NN6 6HB £200 
• Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Army Cadet Force, South Wigston, LE18 4WS £200