Community

Dragon awards

Deutsche Bank, Linklaters and UBS were awarded the Economic Regeneration Award at the 2006 Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards held at Mansion House on October 19.

The awards celebrate exceptional examples of community work undertaken by businesses in London.
The three companies were given the award for Project Shoreditch, a partnership with the Shoreditch Trust to help regenerate Shoreditch through combating unemployment and encouraging business within this area.

Awards were given for initiatives falling within six categories, including the Economic Regeneration Award, for companies actively supporting community groups, social enterprises and small businesses in London through the donation of professional skills, promoting local procurement or targeting local residents for job opportunities.

The project is run by the East London Business Alliance (ELBA), which has 17 years of experience bringing business skills and private sector volunteers to the East End. The project has provided professional mentors for both the Hoxton Apprentice and the Fifteen Foundation to help trainees gain full-time employment.

"The partnership of these three, powerful businesses has been key to the effectiveness of this project and its ability to tackle the wide ranging needs of the Shoreditch area," said the Lord Mayor, Head of the City of London Corporation, Alderman David Brewer.

"If more firms in London worked together in a similar commitment to the local community then huge advances could be made in the economic regeneration of the city's poorest boroughs."

The other 2006 Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards winners were:

• EDUCATION AWARD
  Compass Group, Junior Chefs' Academy
  The Junior Chefs' Academy is a vocational cooking programme developed by the Compass Group in partnership with Thames Valley University.
  
• COMMUNITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION
  Lovells & Barclays – Bow County Court Advice Network
  The Bow County Court Advice Network provides housing debt advice and representation to residents facing eviction across Newham, parts of Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Redbridge.
  
• HEART OF THE CITY
  iMPOWER Consulting – Community Involvement Programme
  iMPOWER Consulting Ltd launched their community involvement programme in 2005 to make a formal commitment to investing time and skills into the local community.
  
• LORD MAYOR'S AWARD
  (Joint winners)
  Gensler – Design a Future
  For seven years architectural practice Gensler has developed a Community Outreach scheme Design a Future, which has become firmly embedded in the firm's culture. KPMG – Corporate social responsibility
  Corporate social Responsibility has become embedded in the business structure of KPMG over 11 years of development.
  
• VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
  Tim Cole– nominated by Central Brent Partnership
  Archant journalist Tim Cole has been instrumental in developing a student-produced newspaper with Central Brent Partnership.
  

Contact Felix Harcourt,
Rain Communications 020 7222 4345 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk