The Yorkshire & Clydesdale Bank Foundation has awarded our team a Spirit of the Community Award for helping unemployed people to gain skills and move into paid work. Our employability volunteers also help us to feed 15,000 vulnerable people each week who access frontline services such as elderly lunch clubs, soup kitchens, women’s refuges and homeless shelters.

In addition to the prestigious award, the Foundation awarded FareShare Yorkshire a cheque for £5,000 so that it could build on this life-changing work in the coming year.

Jonathan Williams, Office & Development Manager said “This award is a testament to the incredible efforts of Mark and Keely to help people gain not only accredited skills such as forklift truck permits but essential skills such as timekeeping, customer service and teamwork. We have seen many people move into work as a direct result of the mentoring they have provided for people who face a variety of barriers. I have been particularly impressed with the help they offer for people to practice their literacy and numeracy, so that they can gain confidence and move into work rather than shying away from it for fear of embarrassment.”

The Foundation was impressed by the innovative way in which the charity offers technical training, on-the-job training and mentoring in a safe, friendly environment where people who have never worked or been out of work for years can gain the skills and confidence they need to improve their lives.