SPONSORED BY THE EDUCATION TRAINING COLLECTIVE( ETC)
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
Education Training Collective CEO Grant Glendinning presented the Community Champions Award to Jo Davies, founder of the Talk Cancer Teesside campaign.
WINNER
TALK CANCER TEESSIDE
A drive to get Tees businesses talking about cancer is a personal mission for HR Alchemy boss Jo Davies.
Jo leads Talk Cancer Teesside – a new initiative designed to make our area’ s workplaces cancer-friendly environments.
And not only did she address the 350-strong audience at the Tees Business Awards 2025, the scheme she founded emerged an award-winner, pipping Miller Homes Teesside and Cygnet Law to the Community Champions prize.
Jo told the audience:“ The sad reality is that one in two of us are likely to be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime. So, if you liken that stat to a workplace, that’ s 50 % of your company’ s workforce that are likely to, at some point, be given a cancer diagnosis.
“ I look back to the old days when I started in HR and we didn’ t talk about mental health or menopause like we do now. So, my question to Tees businesses is, why don’ t we talk more about cancer?”
The objective of Talk Cancer Teesside, she said, was to“ make cancer a manageable conversation for employers and employees, enabling Tees companies to be equipped with education, resource and the tools they need to connect the dots between cancer and its impact in the workplace.”
She added:“ We’ re delivering training in conjunction with the wonderful people at Teesside Hospice, using their expert trainers with counselling backgrounds to equip businesses with the confidence to talk about cancer and life-limiting illnesses. In turn, you’ re enabling an open conversation in your workplace about cancer and how employees affected will be supported by you.
“ The vision is a future where every Tees employer is part of a business community that has a cancer-friendly workplace. And all funds from the campaign will be delivered to Teesside Hospice, so not only are you supporting the campaign, you’ re supporting a truly worthwhile cause.”
Speaking after receiving the award from Grant Glendinning, CEO of category sponsor The Education Training Collective( Etc.), Jo told Tees Business it was a personal mission for her, having lost her parents, Nick and Chris Armstrong, to cancer within a year of each other during Covid, and with husband Phil having also had a cancer scare.
FINALIST CYGNET LAW
Redcar-based and with an office in Middlesbrough, Cygnet Law believes that being a responsible business means more than just offering services – it’ s about taking action, with a focus on community engagement through active staff involvement.
Through volunteering, fundraising and pro bono support, the firm is dedicated to addressing the needs of the community and improving lives. Staff participation is encouraged in initiatives that align with Cygnet’ s core values of social responsibility – from sponsoring sports teams, local groups and charities to supporting the likes of My Sisters Place, Eva Women’ s Aid, Power of Women and the Pride movement. In short, Cygnet Law cares about its community and works tirelessly to make a positive difference in it.
FINALIST
MILLER HOMES TEESSIDE
Established as a Miller Homes region five years ago, Miller Homes Teesside invests heavily in its people and engages with all aspects of community life via education, sport, charity and wellbeing.
As it expands across Teesside and beyond, it plans to increase community engagement in 2025, including speaking with horticultural students to design a show home garden scheme, supporting a school with a talk about housebuilding and a reciprocal site visit to see our work in action, and a“ Meet the Neighbour” event at one of its newest show homes.
It makes donations too, with £ 20,000 given, through various staff initiatives, to the Great North Air Ambulance in 2024, plus help to charities and community groups through a twice-yearly Community Fund.
SPONSOR’ S REFLECTIONS:
Grant Glendinning, CEO, Education Training Collective:“ Community is everything for us. We exist for people and communities and it’ s such an honour to recognise the great work that happens in communities. I couldn’ t believe the high quality of the nominations we had to sift through for this although I have to say the right organisation won it – it’ s absolutely amazing and we’ re thrilled to award it.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 115