06 Dec 2023
The Forward Trust’s Staff Awards (Winter) 2023 event once again highlighted incredible individual, team and cross-organisation achievements for this year.
With over 65 nominations received, this year’s event on Monday 20th November at The Brink, Liverpool, provided a welcome opportunity for staff across the organisation to get together, enjoy a tasty lunch and get to know/reacquaint with colleagues from all parts of the country.
This year’s awards recognised both individuals and teams for their innovation, service delivery, personifying Forward’s values, volunteers’ efforts, and personal achievements.
The winners on the day were;
This event included a number of hosts from across Forward, including CEO Mike Trace, Executive Director of Substance Misuse Services, Jason Moore, and two Trustees, Louise Gibbings and Benita Rayne.
Guests were also treated to refreshments, afternoon-tea style platters and a live musical opening by a Liverpool-based ukulele band.
The Awards also provided a new opportunity to show a recent film launched by Taking Action on Addiction (led by The Forward Trust) as part of the national campaign, Addiction Awareness Week. Over 40 participants featured in this ground-breaking film, each telling their own story or journey through addiction and recovery.
https://youtu.be/Vmvgf8vVdIc?feature=shared
Everybody Knows Somebody - Feature Film by Taking Action on Addiction created for Addiction Awareness Week 2023 providing captivating, moving and emotional stories from 42 participants with lived experience of addiction. This film opened our Staff Awards Winter 2023 ceremony.
One of the most poignant moments from the Awards was the remarkable introductory speech by Louise Gibbins (a Forward Trustee), highlighting the namesake of the award, the late Richard Stephenson, or ‘Steff’ as he was affectionately known – a Forward Trust graduate who had a remarkable story of recovery. Richard was a client of Forward more than 20 years ago and recovered from his own addiction going on to provide support, help and inspiration to others during his life, until passing away later this year.
The event ended with a chance for colleagues to chat, take photographs and reminisce about their achievements over the last year, and this special ceremony provided a welcome occasion for celebration for all nominees.
