Prince's community honour for YMCA Norfolk's Nigel

YMCA Norfolk project officer Nigel Graves has been honoured at a prestigious award ceremony as the community individual who has best collaborated with business to benefit society.

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Nigel (pictured right) received the East of England Marks & Spencer Sieff Award 2012 from HRH Prince Charles at the Business in the Community annual East of England awards ceremony, held at Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmunds.

Recognised for his tireless work in the community and in collaboration with business to benefit society,Nigel is Project Officer at YMCA Norfolk

Nigel previously worked as part of the Youth Offending Team.  He has worked with Business in the Community for at least five years supporting the Get Ready! project which helps unemployed and homeless people back into work in Great Yarmouth.  His role is to be the first point of contact for the young people and to assess how they might benefit from a place on the programme.

His award citation said that Nigel always makes strong efforts to develop the links with business - so that he can be more informed about the opportunities that may be available to young people and, although he works with those who advise and support disengaged and hard to reach young people in order to assist them into education, training or employment, Nigel goes the ‘extra mile’ with every young person ensuring that he offers the best service available.

Nigel has had to be aware of both the needs of the young people and those of business in order to perform his role effectively. He is aware that it is difficult for employers to offer training or job roles to people from demanding background and that there is a reputational risk to them by being involved in such projects.  With this knowledge and understanding, he works hard to ensure that the concerns of the business are understood in advance and that the person he nominates to work with them is the right person for the role, said the citation.

The Awards Gala Dinner on Tuesday June 19, attended by 300 guests and sponsored by Anglian Water, aim to celebrate and recognise responsible local business practice.

Business in the Community, is part of the Prince’s Charities group of not-for-profit organisations of which Prince Charles is president.