Caring team makes £30,000 IMPACT
ACCRINGTON-BASED charity Maundy Relief has won a major national award for its work tackling poverty and helping people in real need throughout the community.
Following a rigorous selection and assessment process, Maundy Relief was chosen from more than 400 charities across the UK as one of ten winners of the 2020 GSK IMPACT Awards.
The awards are designed to recognise the outstanding work of small and medium-sized charities working to improve health and wellbeing in communities across the UK. Winners receive £30,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by The King’s Fund.
Maundy Relief helps people with physical, mental health and financial problems throughout the community, offering a wide range of services. This includes providing free lunches, household goods and clothing, emergency accommodation, housing and benefits advice, counselling and healthcare.
The people using Maundy Relief’s services often live in extreme circumstances experiencing poverty, physical illness, mental distress and often nowhere else to turn. It has a wide reach in the community and acts as both a ‘first port of call’ and a ‘last resort’. Maundy Relief is trusted locally, with many organisations referring people to its services including the NHS, social services, probation services and other charities.
Last year Maundy Relief helped more than 1,500 people through a wide range of support. This includes home visits, nurse-led health appointments, welfare advice and housing support. Its counselling service supports people who are struggling with bereavement, depression, domestic abuse, relationship problems or self-harm. The charity’s Abbey Street building also serves as an emergency cold weather shelter, where homeless people can stay overnight, eat a hot meal, shower and change their clothes.
The 2020 GSK IMPACT Award recognises Maundy Relief’s significant impact in the community and its commitment to providing an immediate and sustained response to anyone in need.
Lucy Hardwick, manager of Maundy Relief, said: “We are so delighted to hear that we are winners of a GSK IMPACT Award. It’s a huge honour to win this prestigious national award and we are very grateful that the judges have recognised the value of our work in the local community.”