- Following the success of last year’s Everyday Heroes awards, nominations are open for people to nominate the UK small businesses that have helped them through the last year
- O2 is encouraging people across the country to nominate local, independent businesses which have managed to do amazing things during the last year
- The National winner will receive £5,000 cash, with five regional winners each receiving a tech bundle to help their businesses thrive
- Voters will be in with a chance of being gifted £250 cash – which could be spent at their chosen small business
- Entries open now until 6th August 2021 at virginmediao2.co.uk/everydayheroes/
7th July 2021 – Following the success of last year’s Everyday Heroes awards, which saw local businesses and individuals across the UK rewarded for the difference they had made during lockdown, O2 has announced that nominations have opened once again for 2021.
This year’s awards will celebrate independent and small businesses, and the individuals behind them, who have gone above and beyond to support their communities or have remained resilient and resourceful in the face of adversity. Nominees will have the chance to be gifted £5,000, as well as everyone who votes being in the running to win £250 cash to spend on their local high street, or however they wish.
Entries are now open and don’t close until Friday 6th August, leaving plenty of time for members of the public to nominate deserving small businesses and enterprises who have gone the extra mile.
This could be a business leader who started providing a much-needed service during the last year, someone who used technology to adapt their business completely to keep reaching their customers, or someone whose outlook kept everyone going when times were tough.
Judging will take place in two stages; an internal panel at O2 will choose five regional winners – one each from the north, south, east, and west of England, as well as the Midlands – who will each win a tech bundle to help their business thrive.
The regional winners will then be shared for the public to vote, ultimately crowning this year’s Everyday Hero who will receive the £5000 cash prize. Their 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 a special celebrity guest.
Everyday Heroes has already made a difference since it started last year, helping business owners reinvest in their businesses and ensure they were properly set up to withstand the challenging few months they had ahead.
One of last year’s winners, Suzy Keeping, 25, from Northampton, owns two pubs, and this time last year used her wholesale food contacts to deliver food to those in need. Network connectivity helped Suzy to harness the power of the local community in setting up her delivery service. She explained how delighted she was to win the award: “I was really surprised and humbled to win O2’s Everyday Heroes award. I wasn’t a key worker, I wasn’t doing this every day, I was simply just trying to do my bit and help others. It’s an incredibly nice gesture that someone recognised me.”
Suzy spent her prize money to further invest in the food bank and gift staff and patients on local Covid wards homemade biscuits and treats from a local bakery. She used the handset gifted to her to teach some of the older patients at the hospital about FaceTime, reuniting them with loved ones they hadn’t seen in so long.
Jo Bertram, Managing Director, Business & Wholesale at Virgin Media O2 said: “We are thrilled to be extending our Everyday Heroes awards this year as there are so many truly deserving small businesses out there who have made a real difference over the past twelve months.
“For many people, lockdown has helped them rediscover local businesses. Whether that’s essential shops who have continued to welcome customers during lockdowns, offering vital products as well as a friendly face, to the bakeries, cafes and restaurants who have worked around the clock facilitating deliveries to guarantee we’d have something to look forward to during these tough times.
“We have always helped provide businesses with the technology and digital expertise to enable greater flexibility and improve connectivity, and this is more important than ever as we all learn to adapt to a new normal following the pandemic. We hope the prize offers a small helping hand to those who have made a huge contribution.”
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.
To learn more about O2 Business, visit https://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
press enquiries
press enquiries