Community Solutions win Best Large Social Enterprise 2014

Last Friday, the best of the North West’s social enterprise sector gathered in Blackpool for the Excellence in Social Enterprise awards, hosted by Social Enterprise North West.

It was a fantastic evening for Community Solutions North West who won the award for Best Large Social Enterprise in recognition of the organisations growth and continual support across the North West. 

The award signifies how much the organisation has grown in the last 12 months, from 8 to 21 members of staff, 180 partner agencies and now boasts over 300 volunteers.

Sponsored by Selnet, the award was collected by Managing Director of the organisation, Deborah Clark, who said,

“We are in a time of amazing opportunity, by applying innovative business methods to our social enterprise we have been able to grow and develop to meet the needs of our community. We are people focussed with all our projects, so to be recognised for our enterprise is a credit to all our staff, volunteers and partners.”

Community Solutions provides over 15 community services developed to meet local need with individualised response, including Befriending, Food Bank, Training, Consultancy and Volunteering. With their existing initiatives and determination to offer bespoke solutions to a variety of community needs, they are committed to offering hope and opportunity to local people.

The organisation that has bases in Accrington and Burnley has no intentions of slowing down their growth with big plans in development for both sites to be completed by the end of the year.

Community Solutions North West (CSNW) is a social enterprise working in the North West of England using business principles to raise revenue and deliver contractual services to benefit local communities.  We seek to "empower local people to meet local needs within the communities of Lancashire and beyond; promoting independence, confidence and self-esteem".

Other accolades from the last 12 months include - winning the Best Community Enterprise 2013 (Lancashire Red Rose Awards), SELNET's Excellence in Training Award 2013 and achieving the Approved Provider Status for safe and effective practice in Befriending (Mentoring & Befriending Foundation, 2013).