BEST NEW COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
SPONSORED BY VISTECH SERVICES
FINALIST
3R Removals
Charity boost – Middlesbrough ’ s Helping Hands ’ founder Michael Harvey is presented with the Best New Community Champions award by Vistech Services ’ operations director Paul Heeran .
WINNER
Middlesbrough ’ s Helping Hands
The founder of a group which helps Middlesbrough ’ s needy believes people ’ s generosity has changed other ’ s lives for the better .
Formed in 2020 to help underprivileged people in the town , Middlesbrough ’ s Helping Hands supports those in deprivation with small things such as food , clothes , free haircuts , hot drinks , toiletries , agency advice or even just by providing a non-judgemental social area for people to chat .
And after picking up the Community Champions prize at the Best New Tees Business Awards , founder Michael Harvey expressed gratitude for all the support Helping Hands receives .
He said : “ I ’ m at the heart of it but I can ’ t do it alone and this is why we work with other organisations .
“ It ’ s hard to pull a team of volunteers together – we get the odd person coming along and helping , which I massively appreciate – but the best way we ’ ve found to work , and this isn ’ t just in charity , it ’ s in business too , is joint ventures .
“ I may be just the person who runs Middlesbrough ’ s Helping Hands but all the joint ventures and all the different campaigns we have running with different charities – the trajectory by using two or three different platforms makes life so much easier .
“ We have so many different campaigns going on and I know that we ’ ve changed a lot of lives in the last 12 months .
“ It ’ s about the importance of the events we ’ ve created . We have so many regulars who come along to our different events and they just make a massive impact in the community .”
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Paul Heeran , operations director of Vistech Services , said : “ Vistech were proud sponsors of the Best New Community Champions Award for the second consecutive year . It is an honour to sponsor a category that recognises companies who have supported our local community . Congratulations to category winners , Middlesbrough ’ s Helping Hands , who have been rewarded for their passion and determination to help those in need across our region .”
3R Removals provides zero or low-cost removal services to large corporations who are downsizing or shutting down a premises , saving them a large disposal or dilapidation fee .
It also provides quality A-Grade secondhand furniture to SMEs or individuals working from home who cannot afford expensive new furniture , with its unique restoration and sanitising service contributing to upgrading used furniture .
But , perhaps most importantly , it works towards minimising waste by rescuing 95 per cent of the furniture items it removes and reselling it to customers , with 200-300 tonnes of landfill waste avoided to date – thus helping the commitment of councils to achieve environmental sustainability .
FINALIST
TeesstrHive
Community interest company TeesstrHive supports children , young people and families across Teesside with their emotional wellbeing , mental health and social skills by providing one-to-one support , group activities and social groups .
Formed in December 2020 at a time when many people were struggling , its core values include the development and maintenance of relationships within the community – relationships which provide new opportunities for children and young people to access free activities and enable people of all ages to ‘ give back ’ to the community .
It recently opened its first premises in Saltburn and looks forward to inviting the community to share the space .
126 | Tees Business