We are delighted to share the news that MHFA England’s incredible work throughout the pandemic has been recognised at a prestigious event which brought together and celebrated the UK’s business community.
Taking place on the 25th and 26th of November 2020, the special event saw nearly 1,000 people in attendance to celebrate the heroes of last year.
MHFA England has set out to improve the nation’s mental health by training one in ten people in mental health awareness and skills. Reinvesting all its profit to provide access to quality mental health training, MHFA England has this year turned its focus towards supporting the NHS, frontline workers and black-led organisations. MHFA England’s training aims to promote the belief that we can all speak openly about mental health and seek support when needed.
MHFA England was celebrated at the Social Enterprise Futures Event alongside all the others on the Social Enterprise Roll of Honour in a session hosted by actor, comedian and director, Chris Addison. The Social Enterprise Roll of Honour recognises the people and businesses that have demonstrated the strength, passion and resilience that are synonymous with the sector, throughout what had been an incredibly challenging year. More than 400 nominations were sent by individuals within the social enterprise sector and their supporters.
Social enterprises are businesses that put the interests of people and the planet before profits and this year they have been at the forefront of community response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have been doing everything they can to continue serving the communities they are set up to support, with many adopting new business models in order to do so.
Commenting on being named as part of the Roll of Honour, Simon Blake, CEO, MHFA England said:
“We are delighted to have been recognised on the UK Social Enterprise Roll of Honour for our work on supporting people throughout the pandemic. I am so grateful to our staff, Instructor Members and the entire MHFA England community, whose enduring hard work and commitment has allowed us to move closer to our mission of training one in ten people in mental health and awareness skills, despite the challenges brought about by coronavirus.
As we move into 2021, we will continue to focus on providing support to the NHS, frontline workers and Black-led organisations. We hope that our online training options – created in response to the new working paradigm – will empower people to talk freely about mental health and seek support at their time of need, wherever they are working. Whatever the new year brings, together we will continue to create a society where everyone’s mental health matters.”
Simon Blake, CEO, MHFA England
Amongst others, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown featured as a speaker at the event, commenting on the success and strength of the UK’s social enterprise movement. He stated that “there is no route to the future that does not have social enterprise at its centre”. Other speakers at the Social Enterprise Futures event included notable businesspeople such as former CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman and economist, Kate Raworth who emphasized the sheer extent to which business needs to change to bring about a fairer and more sustainable economy.
Social Enterprise UK organised the event in partnership with social enterprise trade bodies from across the home nations – Social Enterprise Northern Ireland, Social Enterprise Scotland and the Wales Co-operative Centre.
Commenting on the event and the Roll of Honour, Peter Holbrook CBE, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK said:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the deep inequalities within society. When the pandemic passes, we need to seriously rethink how the economy works and the role of business within it. To truly build back better we need a real step change in the uptake and adoption of social enterprise models, which show that successful businesses can put people and the planet first.
The Roll of Honour, announced at Social Enterprise Futures, shows just how important social enterprises have been to communities’ response to the pandemic. They’ve been pivoting their business models to create new goods and services, getting food and essential supplies to the vulnerable, manufacturing PPE and also working on the frontline of the pandemic delivering vital health and social care services. It is this spirit that needs to be harnessed when we eventually head out of lockdown, so we make sure we don’t go back to business as usual.”
Peter Holbrook CBE, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK
This article was originally published by MHFA England.
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