10th September 2021 – Love Your Doorstep, a small business based in Enfield, is calling for support as it reaches the final stages of O2’s Everyday Heroes Awards.
Founder, Emma Rigby, has been crowned one of the regional winners of this year’s awards – celebrating the independent and small businesses, and the individuals behind them, who have adapted and flexed their business to go above and beyond to support their communities or have remained resilient and resourceful in the face of adversity.
Emma was nominated by members of the public who wished to acknowledge her incredible efforts in connecting Enfield residents, charities and businesses to the services they needed most throughout the pandemic.
Love Your Doorstep was set up after the London riots in 2010 after Emma wanted to create something that helped bring the local community together at a time where they needed it most. Since then, the online platform has grown to over 30,000 members who have been able to be connected to over 750 businesses, community groups and charities in the borough. In the last 18 months in particular, 600 volunteers helped deliver food parcels, meals, medication and refurbed laptops to those in need. With so many people to help organise and resources to manage, Emma relied on technology to help her keep all these moving parts connected and ultimately ensure everyone got the help they need.
When asked what being named a regional winner meant to her, Emma said: “It is such an honour to be named a regional winner of the competition! I just knew as soon as the pandemic hit that we had the links and platform that could really help support our community.
“It’s been a real team effort to keep things going over the past 18 months and it’s reaffirmed the sense of community and connection we’ve all needed to lean on at some point. I’m delighted to have received this recognition and even be nominated in the first place! To win the national competition would mean so much and the money would help us continue to support the local businesses and individuals who still get so much out of our service.”
Working closely with charity partners such as The Felix Project and Cooking Champions, the Love Your Doorstep team has delivered over 60,000 meals to those in need. Many of the volunteers who helped bring the operation to life have now committed to supporting local charities moving forwards, a legacy no doubt inspired by Emma and her team. The £5,000 prize for the national winner will help Emma continue to provide her service to her local community and help them continue to connect those in need.
Emma is one of five regional winners battling it out to be crowned this year’s Everyday Hero who will receive the £5000 cash prize. Public votes will account for 50 per cent of the final outcome, while the other 50 per cent will be determined by the O2 panel who will be joined by internationally renowned interior designer and entrepreneur, Kelly Hoppen, CBE.
Members of the public have until Tuesday 21st September to head to @o2businessuk on Twitter to like and retweet to vote for their winner.
Jo Bertram, Managing Director, Business & Wholesale at Virgin Media O2 said “Emma is an incredible representation of the huge effort that people have made across the UK in bringing communities together during the pandemic. Highlighting the valuable role that technology plays in connecting people, she helped ensure that no one in the Enfield borough felt unsupported at a time where it felt so easy to feel alone. Her incredible tenacity, determination and desire to help is truly admirable and the local community is lucky to have her. Emma couldn’t be more deserving of her place as a regional winner of O2’s Everyday Heroes award.
Other regional winners include @indytute from Kent, @jackalopejoecoffeeco from Lincolnshire, @yasin_hq from Leicester and @boo_hq from Bolton. To find out more about their stories, visit https://www.o2.co.uk/business/everyday-heroes.
The tools available through O2 Business can help firms continue to adapt and grow their business as the UK continues to head out of lockdown. As flexibility continues to be more important than ever, customers can choose the ultimate flexible package with tariffs that give them the control and confidence to suit their evolving company needs.
The market-leading suite of flexible solutions includes automatic data rollover and flexible tariffs so customers can flex their data allowance up and down each billing cycle. As well as flexible add-on business apps such as Microsoft Office 365 so customers can stay productive no matter where they need to work, plus a range of business contract lengths, from a rolling 30-day plan, through to three years.
O2 Business packages also offer greater network security, with experts on hand to help with any technical issues.
To learn more about O2 Business, visit ttps://www.o2.co.uk/business/why-o2/flex-your-business
Terms and conditions apply see https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/o2-everyday-heroes-terms-conditions
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Notes to Editors
The regional winners were chosen from a selection of the best entries by a panel including independent judge Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of the charity Hubbub, and judges from O2: Jo Bertram, Managing Director, Business & Wholesale at Virgin Media O2; Allie Lawson, Head of SMB Brand & Marcomms; and Sandeep Raithatha, head of 5G, New Product Innovation and Wayra Engagement at O2.