On 25th June we welcomed staff, volunteers, community members and partner organisations for our annual celebration, marking the release of our latest impact report.
Attendees enjoyed breakfast pastries and fruit before settling in for the morning. We kicked off with a video showing members of our community passing our Charity of the Year 2024 plaque to one another. Freda Jackson, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, then gave her opening remarks. Freda reflected on the history of the organisation – from church activities to childcare, charity status to this most most recent award – and the individuals supported along the way.
We were then joined by our guest speakers, Jackie Mould from Wakefield Council and Claire Sutherley of We Are Wakefield.
In her talk, Jackie spoke of our shared need for connection: “Social networks are the glue… they need to be nurtured, invested in and sustained.”
Claire reflected on St George’s win at the 2024 Wakefield Business Awards, “Charity of the Year is one of the strongest categories with lots of great entries.”
She also praised our work, calling it amazing, adding, “you’re changing people’s lives.” Claire reflected on the collaborative spirit of Wakefield businesses and organisations – “It’s all about working together and the power of connection.”
This theme followed through with the fantastic harmonies of Sounds of Broadway, the choir formed via the Singing for Fun sessions run at Jubilee Hall.
A variety of videos were also shown. Each highlighted stories from across our childcare, children and young people, adult education and employability, and wellbeing services. We’ll be releasing some of these videos on our socials over the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled for more from our staff team, volunteers and community members!
There was fierce competition for first place in our quiz, with Jade Wright of FAB Wakefield eventually coming out on top after a tie-breaker.
Berni O’Brien, St George’s CEO, rounded out the morning with her reflections on the year, giving thanks to the many individuals, groups and organisations that make our work possible.