The five-star South Wales resort was honoured with the prestigious Extra Mile Award for its dedicated work tackling food poverty, improving facilities, and driving transformational change in Newport.
The Celtic Manor Resort has won the prestigious Extra Mile Award at the Hotel Cateys! This amazing accolade recognises the resort’s exceptional work and heartfelt commitment to supporting the local community as a lead partner in the Newport Place Programme. Their dedicated team of almost 1,000 employees has undertaken transformational projects, including cooking 2,000 meals every month for the vulnerable and renovating derelict gardens into community allotments.
The five-star hotel in South Wales won the Extra Mile Award at the Hotel Cateys during a glittering gala awards ceremony in London on Monday, 24th November.
The award specifically recognises the incredible commitment of Celtic Manor Resort and the wider Celtic Collection as a lead partner in the Newport Place Programme, established by Business in the Community. The Celtic Collection stepped up its work after a ‘Seeing is Believing’ visit to underprivileged communities in 2023, committing almost all of the Resort’s 990 permanent employees to this cause.
The commitment from the staff has resulted in several impactful and transformative community projects, showing a business using its resources and expertise to make a real difference:
- Tackling Food Poverty: The resort is cooking 2,000 meals every month for distribution to the homeless and other vulnerable people in need.
- Festive Cheer: They deliver an annual Festive Extravaganza Santa experience for several hundred disadvantaged children at a community centre in Pillgwenlly.
- Creating Spaces: The team renovated derelict gardens into a community allotment and gardens.
- Digital Access: They donated and installed computers and printers at a community centre, as well as installing WiFi in a local hostel.
- Supporting Groups: Furniture surplus to refurbishment has been upcycled to provide sofas and chairs for community groups.
- Staff Initiatives: Employees regularly run clothes and toy donation drives across departments.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Alassim Mohamed, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Business in the Community, praised the Collection’s deep impact: “Their support has reached every corner of the community, from tackling food poverty and improving access to education and training, to creating spaces that bring people together and providing care, clothing and comfort to those who need it most. They are truly driving real, transformational change, proving what’s possible when a business leads with purpose and heart.”
Professor Simon Gibson CBE, Chief Executive of Wesley Clover Wales and Chair of the Newport Place Programme, underlined the importance of listening to the community first: “When we first engaged with the Newport community… we gave the community the opportunity to tell us what they needed, and the insights we received were invaluable… It’s a clear demonstration of how businesses can make a real impact when they listen and respond to the true needs of the community.”
Professor Gibson also highlighted the benefit to the staff, noting that businesses gain “a deep sense of pride and fulfilment among the team” from this meaningful service.
This is a story that shows how community action benefits everyone involved. Let’s celebrate the Celtic Collection for setting such a high standard for corporate responsibility in South Wales!
Visit the Celtic Collection’s website here: celtic-collection.com
Image from the Celtic Collection.
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