COMMUNITY Integrated Care with services in Warrington, celebrated double success after receiving two prestigious care sector accolades at this year’s National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards, including the top prize – the ‘Employer Award’.
Working in the community, Community Integrated Care, one of the UK’s most successful social care charities, employs over 5,000 caring and committed colleagues to provide life-enhancing support to over 2,500 people in across the UK with a wide range of care needs including: learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues.
Hosted by leading social care publication, Care Talk; the National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards recognize individuals, teams and organizations that have gone above and beyond over the past 12 months, providing exceptional care and support for people with learning disabilities and autism.
The coveted ‘Employer Award’ recognizes ‘an outstanding employer’ in the care sector.
In presenting the award to Community Integrated Care, the judges praised the charity’s “innovation, passion and drive to improve the lives of the people they support” and praised them for being “a dynamic that focused on the tangible improvement of people’s lives.
Mark Adams, CEO of Community Integrated Care, said, “It is a great honor to receive the employer award and to be recognized nationally among so many fantastic organizations in the sector. I am incredibly proud of our frontline colleagues and support services teams for their efforts every day to ensure the best possible life for the people we support. This recognition is a testament to the incredible things we have accomplished over the past year, and I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish over the next 12 months.
The charity also received the ‘Making A Difference Award’ for its groundbreaking partnership with the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The accolade celebrated the partnership’s first inclusive volunteering programme. The initiative enables hundreds of people with learning disabilities and autism to play a variety of important roles at RLWC 2021 live matches at stadiums across England, from supporting hospitality guests to taking pictures on match day.
Praising the successes of the partnership over the past 12 months, the judges described their teams as “passionate and completely dedicated to [their]working within one of the best community projects in world sport” and said that “it gives more than 300 people life-changing opportunities to realize their true potential through ambitious experiences, achieving dreams, to secure paid work and also to the fight against prejudice and discrimination. ”
James Brooks, one of the charity’s inclusive volunteers, attended the awards night and picked up the trophy. He said: “It was great to join everyone in celebrating the awards show on Friday, we had a great time. I felt so proud to receive the Making A Difference award for our team. I love being an inclusive volunteer and having lots of exciting experiences and learning new things – it’s a great program to be part of. I’m glad we won!”
John Hughes, Director of Partnerships and Communities at Community Integrated Care, said: “I’m delighted to see our partnership with Rugby World Cup 2021 and our inclusive volunteering program win gold in the Making a Difference award. . Championing inclusion, fighting discrimination and ensuring unique opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autism are at the heart of this program.
It’s fantastic to see the judges recognize this and have it highlighted as an industry highlight at a national event. I am truly proud of everyone who has contributed to the program so far and would like to express my gratitude to Rugby World Cup 2021 for helping to make dreams come true and supporting us in promoting inclusion. worldwide.
The annual awards, which took place at the Birmingham International Convention Centre, also saw the charity shortlisted for 4 other accolades in the categories ‘Breaking Down Barriers’, ‘Sporting Chance’, ‘People’s Award’ and ‘Supporting People with Multiple Learning Disabilities”. .
Community Integrated Care is currently recruiting support workers in Warrington at an industry-leading rate of pay of £10 an hour. To find out more about the charity’s current vacancies, visit their careers website here or register your interest on www.WorkInCare.co.uk
