£24,000 has been donated to 25 local charities as a result of Southampton Airport’s volunteering staff.  The donations have come from the BAA Communities Trust, BAA’s own charity, in recognition of staff volunteering, at the annual I-Volunteer Awards held in London.  The awards are open to all of BAA’s 12,000 staff to reward their volunteering and fundraising activities.

This year, the Southampton team submitted 51 entries for their volunteering, double the previous year.  Three Southampton Airport staff won the top prize at the awards.

Each of the three winners has received £5,000 for their chosen charities, and the other entrants have received various awards between £200 - £500 each.  As a result, over £24,000 will be donated to 25 local charities.  The winners and their stories include:

Winner of the Best Volunteer Team Category - Southampton Airport for the Bitterne Park School Partnership (£5,000 prize)
This was awarded to Southampton Airport for its overall approach to the Bitterne Park School Partnership.  The judges were particularly impressed with the way the partnership is kept fresh each year with new initiatives, such as Enterprise Days, school governors, work experience programmes, case studies and the sharing of skills.  In addition, the partnership is held up as best practice by the Specialist Skills & Academies Trust, and has become part of the culture at Southampton Airport, involving many staff.

Susan Trigger, Head Teacher at Bitterne Park School, said: “Our involvement with Southampton Airport has been a very positive experience for many staff and students.  The school's success has been as a result of such initiatives and we are delighted to be looking forward to further projects in the years ahead.  The prize funding will be used to continue to deliver student opportunities and awareness of Enterprise and Community Working."
 
Winner of the Best Fundraising Individual Category - Mike Barringer (Airside Operations) for the Sophie Barringer Trust (£5,000 prize)
Mike submitted an entry for his fundraising work for The Sophie Barringer Trust, which he and his wife Lin founded in 2003, following the diagnosis of their daughter Sophie with Wilm's Disease.  This cancer of the kidney, claimed the life of Sophie in 2004, aged just 6, and Mike and his team have continued to raise over £100,000 to help many other sick children.  This year, Mike and the charity has opened a new children’s assessment centre at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester called 'Sophie's Place', which now treats around 400 sick children every single month.  The judges said, "This man continues to astound us every single year."

Mike Barringer, Airside Operations Manager at Southampton Airport, commented: “I’m absolutely astounded to have won the I-Volunteer Awards for a second time.  The £5,000 prize can now fund 40 sick children and their families to have a 3 day rest-bite holiday in the New Forest, and I would like to thank the Trust for making this possible.”

Winner of the Most Supportive Manager Category - Jason Sugden (Fire Service). (£5,000 prize)
Nominated by no less than 5 of his Southampton colleagues, Jason actively leads the way with volunteering, taking part in the London Marathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK, among other projects.  He was also recognised for his ongoing encouragement and support for his colleagues to volunteer for good causes.  In particular, judges were impressed with the way he highlighted the reasons why one of his colleagues should jump out of an aircraft for charity!  Jason has chosen for his £5,000 prize to be donated to Cancer Research UK.

Jason Sugden, Fire Station Manager at Southampton Airport, said “I ran the London Marathon in 2007 in memory of my mum who died of cancer at the age of 39, and have therefore chosen to donate the £5000 prize to Cancer Research UK.  I feel the success of being voted the most supportive manager is not solely down to the way in which I manage, but how the fire service team pulls together and fund raises as a team throughout the year.”

Chris Butler, Managing Director at Southampton, said: “Around a quarter of Southampton Airport staff entered this year’s awards, highlighting just how active our team are in the community.   I am extremely proud to work with such a motivated and inspirational group of people, and would like to congratulate them on their achievements.”

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Note to Editors:

The BAA Communities Trust was established over 10 years ago by BAA.  Since then it has made grants of over £4 million to a range of good causes and community projects close to BAA’s airports.