Charity of the Year Award

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF) entered the business awards as it an excellent opportunity for all charities to showcase their important work. SYCF has been supporting local communities for over 32 years, providing grants to community organisations and charities working with those most in need.

In more recent years we have done a lot of work responding to the urgent need of more mental health and wellbeing support for local young people, so winning the Chamber’s ‘Charity of the Year’ award for our fund ‘In Memory of Molly Hurst’ has meant a lot to us. It shows that everyone wants to join in the conversation around mental health and do their bit to support people who are struggling.

The business awards also give charities to engage with local businesses, gain new supporters and spread awareness of how the business sector can give back locally.

We would fully recommend that charities enter the Barnsley and Rotherham Business Awards. It is an excellent opportunity to gain prestige, recognition and spread awareness of your charitable work. It is also an excellent way to meet like-minded individuals, find new opportunities for collaboration and partnership and share your work with an engaged and supportive audience.

The judges once again found it very difficult to pick a “Charity of the Year” when all were such deserving winners, however the winning application moved the judges to tears.

It is saddening to say that the number one cause of death in young people is suicide. These unsettling figures tell us that more must be done to prevent young people from reaching the point of taking their own lives.

The prize money will ensure that Molly’s Fund can provide more help for young people to support their mental health and wellbeing.

On a personal level for Fortem, supporting young people through mental health is right at the heart of what they do. As it says on their strap line, they are the “people who care”.