Barclay's Special Commendation for working with low income children

20th May, 2003

Chairman's Awards: making a real difference

A series of awards to recognise employees outstanding contributions to community and diversity were recently made by Barclays Chairman, Sir Peter Middleton and Group Chief Executive, Matthew Barrett at a ceremony held at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London.

The winners each received a specially designed award along with a cheque for £1,000 for a charity of their choice.

Sir Peter Middleton paying tribute to the winners said, "It is wonderful to see the ingenious ways in which our people support their communities all around the world. Their commitment and enthusiasm personify the spirit of Barclays Community Programme."

The ten awards were made from nominations from across Barclays worldwide, the winners are:

Best Overseas Team: Barclays Dublin team, for working with the YMCA to tackle homelessness in Dublin.

Exceptional Fundraiser: Linda Smith, Barclays Darlington, for raising in excess of £75,000 for a local hospice.

Exceptional Fundraising Team: Barclays West London Mid-Corporate Team for raising thousands of pounds for charity over the last three years.

Outstanding Volunteering Individual: Margaret Ellison, Barclays Radbrooke Hall, Cheshire for her motivation, organisational skills and persuasiveness in encouraging her colleagues to participate in her volunteering activities.

Outstanding Volunteering Team: Barclays, Midlands Larger Business Team. In 2002, this Birmingham team raised more than £29,000 for charity.

Commitment to Employee Diversity: Barclays Sunderland Contact Centre for working in partnership with Jobcentre Plus to encourage and support the recruitment of people with disabilities.

Commitment to Customer Diversity: Barclays Bradford for researching and implementing a successful plan to recruit a representative workforce in Barclays Bradford.

Best Overseas Individual: Beatrice Mwaniga, Barclays Nairobi, for befriending and counselling a widowed mother of three who was HIV positive and, after the mother's death, taking in her children.

Exceptional Motivator: Rachael Grady, Barclays Bolton, for encouraging her colleagues to recycle and take their environmental responsibilities seriously.

Lifetime Achiever: Andy Cade for tireless fundraising and exceptional motivating. In 2002, Andy put £120,000 back into the community, involving thousands of Barclays employees along the way.

The awards ceremony was also an opportunity for working with charity partners to ensure the evening was a great success. The judging panel included a mixture of Barclays senior business people and charity directors.

Editors notes

Luis Rodriguez de la Flor, Barclays Madrid, received a special commendation and £500 cheque for charity in recognition of his five-year commitment to a project to build a school for Autistic children on the outskirts of Madrid.

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The awards demonstrate Barclays commitment to taking its social and environmental responsibilities seriously by recognising and supporting employees to actively implement the bank's social and environmental strategies.

Along with its commitment to the community, the bank's vision for equality and diversity is included in its annual report. Through its Equality and Diversity Charter, it sets out targets to attract a diverse workforce and a commitment to supporting diversity in the wider community.

The judges looked for a number of criterion when selecting the winners. These included impact on the community, personal contribution, commitment, raising awareness, partnership and teamwork, creativity, vision and sustainability.

Launched in 2000, the annual awards are held to recognise Barclays employees who have made an outstanding contribution to their local communities, or to those who have actively participated in helping the bank achieve its goal of becoming a truly diverse organisation.

"Barclays is setting a leading example of excellence, its worldclass volunteering programme is the largest single company scheme in the UK," said Peter Davies, Deputy Chief Executive of Business in the Community (BitC).

Barclays volunteering programme is embedded into the bank's business strategy, and it is core to its aim to make a real and lasting difference to the community.

"We actively encourage our employees to give their time and effort to local charities, urban regeneration, fundraising and all forms of volunteering. We are proud of their efforts and not a little humbled by them," said Matt Barrett, Group Chief Executive.

Around a quarter (18,000) of all Barclays employees took part in community activities in 2002. Volunteering projects ranged from mentoring, clearing beaches, serving meals in hostels for homeless people to gardening, painting and decorating.

Barclays is a member of BitC's One Percent Club and contributes one percent of annual UK pre-tax profits to charitable causes every year. Read more information about this.

For more press information or photographs contact Moya Galal, Group PR Manager, Barclays. Tel: 020 7699 4114.