Lakeland Community Care win Fermanagh Trust sponsored 'Social Enterprise of the Year Award'

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Lakeland Community Care have won the Fermanagh Trust sponsored Social Enterprise of the Year Award 2013 as part of the Fermanagh Herald Business Awards.

Fermanagh Community Transport and Lisbellaw Credit Union were also highly commended for the social and economic contribution they make to life in County Fermanagh.

The high point of the Fermanagh Trust’s work supporting and celebrating organisations that exist to address social need is sponsoring this prestigious award. LCC will now receive a grant from the Trust towards its work.

Over nearly 19 years in operation, LCC has evolved its provision into an integrated model of care for older people, with the means available to help clients with anything from care to shopping and household tasks. In more recent years, LCC has built on care services to provide befriending, IT training, health & wellbeing and social engagement programmes.

The non-profit organisation, which has over 100 members of staff, has sites in Belcoo, Garrison, Newtownbutler, Derrygonnely and Teemore. They have plans to open a new healthy living centre in Belcoo in 2014 which will link domiciliary and day care with healthy living and social engagement programmes. This will be LCC’s first owned premises and will signify a great step forward for the organisation, and a further development of service provision.

Speaking during the awards ceremony which took place at the Manor House Hotel on 11^th October, Margaret Gallagher from the LCC said “We are thrilled to have won this award, thanks to everyone who voted for us and to the Fermanagh Trust for sponsoring. It’s great to have received such a positive response from across the county and we’re so delighted our hard work has been recognised”.

Also shortlisted for the award were Fermanagh Community Transport who, using a mix of accessible minibuses and volunteer car drivers, aim to ensure people in Fermanagh have access to places and services – providing an affordable transport system to over 2000 members. Lisbellaw Credit Union was another contender. Set up in 1990 with just 17 members, the Union now has over 1500 members. A committed management team has ensured steady growth over the past decade and provided affordable credit to the local community.

Lauri McCusker, Director of the Fermanagh Trust, who presented the award said “Congratulations to LCC, they are worthy winners who provide a vital service helping older people and we wish them every success with their future work. Well done also to FCT and LCU. We were overwhelmed by the response and the judges had a difficult decision to make. It is great that the success of these organisations has been highlighted. We will continue to recognise Fermanagh’s social enterprises which make a difference, which inspire and motivate and whose work makes a fantastic contribution to the community.”

The Fermanagh Trust report on social enterprises in Fermanagh, launched in December 2012, highlighted the huge contribution these organisations make to life in the county. LCC is an excellent standard bearer for social enterprises in Fermanagh, 2013. You can read the report here: Fermanagh Trust Social Enterprise Report                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Photography courtersy of Fermanagh Herald