Community Business Partnerships Awards Winners

There were five winners in this year’s Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships including two new awards recognising special partnerships.

The winners were:

Melbourne Citymission and TATE (Small Business Category up to 19 employees)

Their partnership provides training, support and life skills to unemployed and disadvantaged young people. A highlight of the partnership has been the development of 1000 survival kits to assist low-income young people. The partnership also involved unemployed people working alongside TATE staff for three months with access to training, mentoring and office equipment.

Save the Children and Procter and Gamble (Medium Business Category between 20 – 199 employees)

Their partnership created the Better Start program, and enabled Save the Children to implement a health check program for disadvantaged children in remote central Australia, which will help to prevent problems in later life.

The project has also involved the development of a computer-training centre for disadvantaged people at Redfern in Sydney’s inner suburbs and is also providing computer and Internet access for members of the local Koori community.

The Smith Family and Cisco Systems (Large Business Category more than 200 employees)

Their partnership has resulted in significant benefits for both organisations and has contributed to positive social change by helping to bridge the digital divide for more than 10,000 disadvantaged families involved in The Smith Family’s Learning for Life education support program.

The Smith Family has also gained state-of-the art voice and data communication facilities, which has enabled the organisation to provide services to clients more efficiently, and better support rural and regional bases.

Anthony Lupi, from Positive Outcomes, who was brought on board to facilitate the partnership says it is a great example of developing shared values and expectations and attention to detail with the benefits of ongoing activities.

The special awards went to:

Kellogg’s (Aust) Pty Ltd and Surf Life Saving Australia (A Special Award for a Long-term Partnership)

The partnership has included water safety programs like Kellogg’s Surf Safe Summer, competition-related events such as the Kellogg’s National Surf League, Junior Surf Lifesaving and The Kellogg’s Surf Safe Summer campaign, a nationwide water safety program first implemented in 1998.

Rio Tinto (A Special Award for Impact on Community by a Business)

Rio Tinto’s comprehensive Business with Communities program was established more than a decade ago and has involved partnering agreements with more than 20 groups ranging from sporting clubs, environmental and aboriginal organisations and academic institutions.

The Prime Minister said the winning partnerships demonstrated that any business, regardless of its size, could contribute to the local community and help to make a difference.

He said the Community Business Partnership gives practical expression to the notion of a social coalition – government, business, community organisations and individuals working in partnership and each contributing their particular skills and resources.

Links:
www.partnership.zip.com.au
www.positiveoutcomes.com.au
www.cisco.com
www.smithfamily.org.au
www.mcm.org.au