We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we won Social Enterprise of the Year for Lucie the Porthcawl Land Train at the Social Business Wales Award 2022, held on Monday 10 October at Swansea Arena and hosted by BBC Wales Today presenter Jennifer Jones.
In its ninth year, the Social Business Wales Awards aims to highlight the vital contribution and difference Welsh social enterprises and social entrepreneurs make to their local communities. The awards are part of the Social Business Wales programme delivered by Cwmpas, a development agency for economic and social change, and are funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.
The ceremony kicked off with a brilliant performance from Choirs to Good, a welcome speech from the host, Jennifer Jones, and an opening address from Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for the Economy of Wales. The presentation of awards began at 1pm, with the closing remarks made by Derek Walker, CEO of Cwmpas ending the day at 3:40pm.
There were 10 award categories, and we were also a finalist in the Environmental Social Enterprise category for our re-use and recycling work, and the Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equality and Justice category for the support we offer to people who have been homeless, as well as our provision for discounted furniture for low-income families and individuals.
Those in attendance at the ceremony from Emmaus South Wales included trustee Julie Raikes, staff members Jemma Wray, Angela Davey, and Greg Jenkins, as well as companions Paul, Roland, Darren, and Josephine who are currently being living at our charity.
Commenting on the recognition, Jemma Wray, Chief Executive at Emmaus South Wales, said:
“We are thrilled to receive Social Enterprise of the Year for Lucie the Land Train and to be recognised in two other award categories was an honour. When Bridgend Council were seeking a land train operator for Porthcawl, we saw an opportunity for a new social enterprise that allowed us to provide different roles and opportunities for the people we support, whilst giving us another platform to raise awareness of homelessness in our local area.
“We are delighted to be able to say that Lucie is now Porthcawl’s award-winning land train service. Receiving this award and being considered in two other categories really is a credit to the hard work of all the people we support, our dedicated staff team and our wonderful volunteers. We had a great time at the ceremony and loved hearing about all the brilliant work happening across Wales thanks to the commitment and innovation of social enterprises.”
Thank you
We would like to thank Cwmpas and Social Business Wales for hosting such a brilliant event and Ecology Building Society for sponsoring our category. We were honoured to be considered alongside so many dedicated, innovative, and passionate social businesses which are all doing great work across Wales. A huge well done to all nominees and the other winners: Cardiff Cycle Workshop, Groundwork North Wales, Down to Earth Project, Galeri (Caernarfon), The Community Impact Initiative, Smart Money Cymru Community Bank, and Ty’n Llan.
Coming up next
All winners from the Social Business Wales Awards go on to represent Wales at the prestigious UK Social Enterprise Awards, held at London’s Roundhouse on Thursday 8 December. Our charity is finalist in two categories: Social Enterprise of the Year and Customer Facing Social Enterprise of the Year, both for Lucie the Land Train.
