Marsh McLennan wins award for Surviving To Thriving project
Hosted annually by the City of London Corporation, the Lord Mayor’s annual Dragon Awards scheme celebrates the social impact of commercial enterprises. The Awards laud businesses that are achieving excellence in social impact in Greater London and for the Regional Impact Award and Lord Mayor’s Award, across the UK.
Ahead of the 2021 event, Lord Mayor William Russell said, “This extraordinary year has presented enormous challenges for individuals and organisations across London and the UK... I was really impressed with the innovative, creative and impactful ways companies, which have themselves faced difficult times during the pandemic, have given their time and effort to help make a positive impact on people’s lives.”
This year, applicants for the awards supported close to 200,000 people, and mobilised volunteers who contributed over 13,000 hours to community groups and other worthy causes. Eventually, the organisers whittled the initial applicants down to 14 companies across six categories. This included professional services conglomerate Marsh McLennan, which went on to triumph in the Regional Impact Award.
The award was presented to Marsh McLennan due to the social impact achieved through its Surviving to Thriving strategic regional initiative, developed by British Red Cross to support unaccompanied refugees and asylum seekers aged 11-25. Support for the initiative formed part of Marsh McLennan’s long-term and strategic UK partnership with the non-profit.
Chris Lay, Chief Executive Officer, Marsh McLennan UK, commented, “We are humbled to have received this award, which is a testament to the extraordinary impact that can be achieved through strategic collaboration between businesses like ours and charities like British Red Cross.”
“I extend my thanks to the amazing volunteers who gave up their time to help young refugees and provide them with the tools and access to services they need as they make their way in a new country. Programmes like these underscore Marsh McLennan’s commitment to make a difference in the moments that matter and to help society rise to meet today’s urgent challenges.”
British Red Cross is the largest charity providing support to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK – and the initiative with Marsh McLennan became the organisation’s flagship refugee initiative, focused on improving the lives of young people across the country.
Since Marsh McLennan became the first corporate partners to invest in the scheme in 2019, the initiative has provided 194 young people with life-changing support, while 1,100 Marsh McLennan colleagues further volunteered 2,000 hours in support of British Red Cross’ refugee work.
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive at British Red Cross, also reflected, “This recognition comes at an important moment, following the Government’s recent proposals to reform the asylum system, and we are incredibly grateful for Marsh McLennan’s continued support for young people seeking asylum. Through this committed support, our teams have been able to make a critical difference to many young people across the UK, and I am so proud that our work in partnership has been recognised.”
Other winners
Elsewhere, TrueCue was handed the Inclusive Employment Award, while the Innovation During Covid-19 Award went to Be On Hand – which worked with Lambeth Council, Age UK and the British Red Cross to mobilise volunteers to shop for vulnerable people – and the Community Partners Award was given to Skills Builder for its work with UBS, helping schools build life skills in young people.
The Heart of the City Award was handed to WeAgile, whose online tutoring platform delivered maths lessons to hundreds of children during lockdown. Finally, another professional services firm, Q5, was lauded for its pro bono consulting initiative. Launched in collaboration with Leeds based charity Ahead Partnership, Pop Up Consulting went on to offer pro-bono support to over 65 small businesses and charities, and picked up the prize for Boosting Social Impact.
