The presentations took place at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, in front of local dignitaries and celebrities. Described as ‘Special awards for Special people’ The Pride of Essex Awards originated in 1994 under the name ‘The Essex Achievement Awards’ by Susie Cornell MBE to recognize and award achievement over adversity.
Grace Kerr, partner and CSR committee member commented: “I was delighted to represent Birketts at the Pride of Essex Awards and to accept the Corporate Team of Pride award for our 150th anniversary charity fundraising efforts. The firm originally set itself a goal of raising £150,000, representing £1,000 for each year since being established in 1863, but went on to raise in excess of £165,000 for local charities. The award recognises the phenomenal effort everyone around the firm put in.”
Nigel Farthing, senior partner and sponsor of the CSR committee at Birketts added: “We are thrilled to win this award. The 150th anniversary challenge was an extremely ambitious extension of our already well-established charity culture at Birketts and it is testament to the commitment and dedication of the partners and staff across all four offices that we surpassed our target.”
Nigel went on to say: “We have long fostered and encouraged a direct involvement in local charitable and community groups. We are members of the Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire branches of the Pro-Help Group and participate in a local pro-bono initiative with the object of providing legal assistance and support to small local groups principally concerned with the interests of ethnic minorities and the disadvantaged. Our charitable giving is focused on providing support to voluntary and community groups in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex whose primary aim is to improve the quality of people's lives. The Fund is administered by the Suffolk Foundation, the Norfolk Community Foundation, the Cambridge Community Foundation and the Essex Community Foundation and grants are awarded twice a year by a committee comprising a cross-section of staff and partners of the firm.”
Photos and video of the event are due to be uploaded onto the Pride of Essex Awards website shortly.
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