Nepacs, a long standing north east charity which provides support to prisoners and their families has had the impact of its current services and future ambitions recognised with its selection as a 2022 Weston Charity Awards winner.
The award gives the charity the chance to invest in its future with ten months of strategic planning support from a dedicated team of four business experts, thanks to pro bono charity Pilotlight and a core grant of £6,500 from the Garfield Weston Foundation.
Nepacs was chosen from over 100 applicants, all of whom are frontline charities delivering youth, welfare or community services in the North of England, the Midlands and Wales. Other local/regional charities to be selected are Kids Kabin, Your Voice Counts, First Stop Darlington and Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust.
Amanda Lacey, chief executive from Nepacs said:
“We are delighted to have been chosen as an award winner of the Weston Charity Awards. As a fairly new chief executive, coming into an organisation at a significant time of uncertainty in respect of COVID and contractual changes, I am looking forward to working with the team of business experts to support us with the development of our 3 year strategy. I welcome the help, support and challenge to navigate the emerging environment in which we are working.
“In particular I am looking forward to accessing the Pilotlighters’ expertise to help us better understand how to prioritise effectively, while striking a balance between getting the fundamentals right, and being an ambitious organisation, keen to grow. We’re hoping the experience will equip us with the knowledge, skills and confidence to face the increasingly competitive world in which charities now operate, helping us do what we do best – but even better!”
In congratulating Nepacs, Philippa Charles, Director of the Garfield Weston Foundation said:
“The Weston Charity Awards were created in 2014, and have since helped 126 charities across Wales, the North and the Midlands to be effective and to grow their services for people in need. As the cost of living crisis hits families and communities, we see a critical role for small charities in key regions who are supporting vulnerable people in a range of ways. These Awards for nineteen charities are a tribute to their determination to improve lives in the toughest of circumstances.”
Ed Mayo, Chief Executive of Pilotlight, the charity which is connecting Nepacs with a team of coaches drawn from a range of businesses and other organisations said:
“An old saying is that the poor pay more. So, while the rising cost of living is a crisis for many people, it is a potential catastrophe for those who are most vulnerable. Nepacs has been selected as a Weston Charity Award recipient on the strength of its ambitions and the openness of the leadership team to external perspectives. Working with business experts, the Weston Charity Awards will strengthen Nepacs to support people who are most at need in our society.”