Codswallop CIC, based in Guiseley, Leeds was proudly announced as the winner of the ‘Community Award’ as part of Pitman Trainings 2018 SuperAchievers awards, after being select from amongst hundreds of nominations from across the UK.
Codswallop provides inclusive and diverse arts events, activities and groups including drama, singing, music and art for all those living within Aireborough, Leeds, as well as accommodating festivals and education programmes across the Yorkshire region.
The organisation was first formed in 2013 and was formally known as JP productions before becoming Codswallop CIC in 2017. Codswallop CIC has the overarching aim to bring people together and make the world of arts accessible to all, whilst also recreating and reviving a lost sense of community. The founder of the organisation, Jacob, set up the group upon completing his school career in 2013, using his experience gained through his volunteering at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and partaking in amateur dramatics to create a new artistic buzz around Guisley and within the community. From graphic design to website creation, he has learnt to do it all by himself! Impressively, Jacob now teaches his talents to around 70 children a week through Codswallop group sessions and even more in his employment as a freelance drama teacher in a nesting school. From a humble club for 11-16’s, Codswallop now engage with thousands on a monthly basis and truly are at the heart of their community.
The UK’s leading and most recognised independent training provider, Pitman Training, initially launched the SuperAchievers Awards 7 years ago for individuals. The aim of the awards was to demonstrate that anything is possible and to graciously reward people who are committed to driving their careers forward in a positive direction and strive for their best. However, this year Pitman Training was no longer looking to only better individuals and decided to run the ‘Community Awards’ for the first time to recognise the hard work of community groups too.
Pitman encouraged groups that have made a difference within their community to enter this brand new award category as a way to celebrate and recognise what they have collectively achieved. As a reward, the group is presented with £1000 worth of training with Pitman’s vast array of training availabilities which could help organisers or volunteers within the groups fill skill gaps or improve existing knowledge that they may have, previously, been unable to do.
6 community organisations from across the UK have received the ‘Community Award’ for having made a difference within their community. Winners of Pitman’s ‘Community Awards’ were determined and decided upon by a combined judges panel of votes and the public vote.
Lucy Philips, Arts Coordinator at Codswallopsays; “We are thrilled to have been named winners of the Pitman Training Community Superachievers award. Codswallop is striving to change perceptions of the arts, prove its vital role in the community and the benefits brought by art, music and theatre to all ages in the community.
“The training prize is going to be provided to staff members and volunteers to help us run our Community Interest Company more effectively. We are interested in business training – in particular bookkeeping and finance training. We also have no formal training in marketing and are really interested in finding out more about blogging as we think it is such a necessary skill for businesses now.”
The Codswallop organisation in Guisley, are solely motivated by observing the impact that the group has on the daily lives of people. Each week, they share in the lives of people in their community by taking time to take interest in their week before releasing their pupils into the creative world by training them through the arts. The organisation thrives off the positive feedback that they receive from their community in such a way that they are enlightened by individual experiences and can continue in evolving in the way that their community wants them to. To find out more about Codswallop please visithttp://codswallop.org.uk
Pitman Training Group Managing Director,said: Claire Lister, Pitman Training Group’s Managing Director, said: “As part of this award we wanted to shine a light on local volunteers who are really contributing to local communities and to be able to give them a platform to not only shout from the rooftops about the incredible work that they do but also invest in the future growth and development of these incredible community organisations.”
Pitman Training offers flexible, tailor-made courses and qualifications with one-on-one student support in subjects including Office, IT, Administration, Finance and Business, which are recognised by employers. The team also offer free career clinics and CV’s advice.
