International Beverage has announced the three winning Scotland-based recipients of this year’s Spirit of Our Community Awards. They will each share £20,000 that has been donated by the premium spirits business. The winners were Airdrie’s Moira Anderson Foundation, which offers support for children and adults affected by childhood sexual abuse, Nairn-based trust, the Watermill Foundation, which gives children with physical and developmental disabilities the opportunity to race and ride bikes, and the Ormlie Community Association, an organisation that provides social services and care to individuals and their families within a deprived area of the Highlands.
The seven runners up, sharing an additional £5,000, were St Andrews Hospice, Diamonds in the Community, James Support Group, Seaboard Memorial Hall, Culrain and District Hall Committee, Young Enterprise Scotland Highland and Moray and Scotland Charity Air Ambulance.
The International Beverage Spirit of Our Community Awards were launched in 2022 to celebrate and reward the people and organisations working hard to make a difference to others in the community surrounding the company’s head office in Airdrie, and, in 2023, the initiative was extended to communities close to the company’s five Scottish distilleries, where separate prize funds were allocated. Judged by a mix of International Beverage employees and external associates, the competition was open to any charity or not for profit organisation based within a 25-mile radius of the business’s key distilleries.
The seven runners up, sharing £5,000, were St Andrews Hospice, Diamonds in the Community, James Support Group, Seaboard Memorial Hall, Culrain and District Hall Committee, Young Enterprise Scotland Highland and Moray and Scotland Charity Air Ambulance.
Spirit of Our Community Awards organiser, International Beverage Business Support Manager Eileen Rae said, ‘We have once again had a fantastic response to our competition, and we were really excited to extend it Scotland-wide for its second year. There really are so many deserving charities across our distillery communities and the standard of entries was extremely high. Our business is thrilled to announce our 2023 winners and runners up and we are looking forward to supporting their inspiring community projects over the months ahead.”
The scheme is International Beverage’s biggest charity commitment to date. Members of the team plan to take up volunteering opportunities with selected charities where possible.
Picture L-R – Malcolm Leask, MD at International Beverage with Eileen Rae, International Beverage Business Support Manager and Gillian Urquhart, Director of The Moira Anderson Foundation