Rowan wins £1,000 Movement for Good award

July 13, 2020

Rowan has won a £1,000 Movement for Good award thanks to nominations from the public.

Rowan is one of 500 winners in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to charities this summer.

Rowan is a vibrant and active part of the art community in Cambridge working with people with learning disabilities. They are based on Humberstone Road just off Chesterton Road, and run a number of studios including wood, ceramics, print, textiles, mixed media, music and performance workshops.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis Rowan has continued to deliver much needed support to their students, their families / carers and volunteers. The £1000 from the Movement for Good award will go towards supporting this. With a smaller remote team they have been providing weekly activities on their website as well as sending out packs in the post. Drama, music, art and Makaton online Zoom sessions take place throughout the week as well as a weekly coffee catch up. The remote team have also made sure they have had regular contact with students and their families via phone, online and even a socially distance visit to check in. The ever so popular Feel good Friday has also gone out every week filled with good news and photos from home.

Members of the public were invited to nominate causes close to their hearts, with 500 gifts of £1,000 available for donation. 13,695 charities were nominated by an amazing 253,879 members of the public.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our supporters who nominated us for this award,” says Hetti Wood (Marketing Manager at Rowan). “Being isolated during the corona virus pandemic is difficult for all of us but for our student artists it has been even more difficult. Our remote team has made such a difference to them and their families to get through this challenging time and we are not out of the woods yet as we continue to work remotely until it is safe to open our doors once more.”

Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive at Ecclesiastical, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good awards. Ecclesiastical is a unique financial services group. We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers. As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”