2021 Award Categories
Business Community Impact Award
Sponsored by Cisco
About this Award…
An award to honour an individual or group of individuals linked with the Armed Forces Community who have started and are still running a business, charity or social enterprise that has a made a significant positive impact on the lives of people within the Armed Forces Community. This impact should be evidenced within the last three years; since January 1st 2018.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- An engaging story behind the inception of the entity, the identified need, quantified demand for the service and a new and innovative approach to deliver it.
- What challenges (both operational and personal) have been faced and how they have been overcome.
- The evolving viable commercial model to maximise continuity of excellent service to the community.
- Lessons and skills taken from military service that have been translated to deliver benefit for the wider armed forces community; something that makes this nomination special.
It is anticipated that the established organisation will have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and made appropriate pledges.
This award is suitable for a person, group or team.
Meet our 2020 Winner!
Turn to Starboard
Turn to Starboard, the only Forces’ sailing charity, uses the therapeutic benefits of sailing to support service personnel who have been affected by military operations. Its founder is Shaun Pascoe, who served in the RAF for16 years before discovering the benefits of sailing whilst recovering from PTSD. Shaun’s determination to share his love of sailing and change Veterans’ lives has helped thousands of people since he set up Turn to Starboard in 2012.
The charity gives Veterans the opportunity to gain internationally recognised RYA qualifications ranging from Competent Crew to Yachtmaster Offshore. It also opens doors to future careers within the marine industry anywhere in the world.
Turn to Starboard is innovative in its concept. The charity does not simply give Veterans qualifications; Shaun focuses on the individual at hand, supporting them holistically. This helps them to engage better with life and their families, and look forward to positive futures and rewarding careers.
When Shaun began, Veterans and their families could sail for a full summer sailing season for no cost. Since then, the number of sailing opportunities has grown each year and figures far outweigh the charity’s initial targets. Shaun initially stated that he would sail 12 service personnel during the course of a year. This could not have been more of an underestimation; to date, Turn to Starboard has provided over 2,800 sailing opportunities since its founding.
Jane Higgins, Events and Fundraising Manager at Turn to Starboard said: “We are hugely honoured, I am here on behalf of our founder Sean Pascoe. It’s hugely humbling to be recognised for his work in this way and all that he has been through to create Turn to Starboard, the charity that it is and the support that it offers to military veterans who have suffered as a result of their service. Thank you all.”
Previous Winners:
2019 – Sinah Common Honey
2018 – Sporting Force Ltd
