Paperclip was honoured to receive the BrightLife ‘Champion Business 2024’ Award. The BrightLife Champions Against Loneliness Awards ceremony was part of a gala fundraising dinner held at SMH Group Stadium, the home of Chesterfield FC, on Saturday 16 March.
Anne Batty, Paperclip’s Managing Director, received the award on behalf of the Paperclip team from Ann Monk, BrightLife’s Chief Executive. BrightLife, previously known as Age Concern, works to combat the scourge of loneliness amongst older people across the Chesterfield area.
Paperclip's Awards Citation
For over fifteen years, the Christmas Lunch in Jesus had provided a Christmas Day meal, entertainment and gifts for lonely and isolated people in Chesterfield and surrounding areas. The meal is hosted at the Whittington Moor Methodist Church.
Paperclip team members originally volunteered in a private capacity, but as the event grew to serve more people – over 100 meals were served at the 2023 event – it became clear that we could harness Paperclip’s business systems, skills and resources to support the operations and marketing behind the event.
Paperclip is a call answering company. Our communications centre is based in Dronfield. We provide call answering and admin support services to organisations across the UK. Working with the founders of Christmas Lunch for Jesus, Paperclip provided a dedicated phone line to handle calls from guests, carers, volunteers and those wishing to make cash or food donations. The Paperclip team logged the contact details for all guests, noted any mobility/health/dietary issues, and made follow up calls closer to the event to confirm details such as pick-up times for transport.
With almost seventy people to collect in minibuses (part-funded by Chesterfield Council) and private transport, logistics were a major concern. Paperclip planned the routes for all three minibuses to minimise wait times for guests, and advised (via the Paperclip communications centre) guests of projected pick up times. We also programmed in deliveries of meals to those whose mobility or mental health issues meant they had to remain at home.
Prior to the event, Paperclip used its considerable social media presence to market the event to charities, churches, councils and other groups. This led to an increase in guest numbers to over 100 catered for at the meal, and a further 20 meals delivered direct to guests at home. Paperclip also designed flyers and posters used to promote the event, and liaised with third party suppliers such as Chesterfield Van Hire.
Paperclip’s role was as a facilitator. We worked behind the scenes and all activities were agreed with the events founders and organisers in advance. We believe the Christmas Lunch on Jesus model highlights how businesses can use their resources, systems, skills and workforce to support local charities.
Anne Batty commented:
‘Whilst it is an honour to receive the BrightLife Award, the true heroes of the Christmas Day Meal are the volunteers who give up their precious time to cook, serve and entertain the guests and, in particular, Mydudu and Wojtek Nadejza who are the principal organisers of this amazing event.’
Hi, I’m Louise Bellwood, Director at Paperclip. I am responsible for delivering Paperclip’s customer service and growth strategies for 2024 and beyond, I am a crusader for the benefits call answering can deliver for organisations of all kinds; customer service, sales generation, customer retention and more. If you have a question about call answering – pricing, set-up, benefits – I would love to hear from you at louise@paperclip.co.uk or 01246 418 181.