We are delighted to share that CatZero has been named Charity of the Year at the Hull and East Yorkshire Business Awards. It is an honour that means a great deal to all of us. Awards like this do not simply appear. We are proud to be recognised for the things that define CatZero: strong governance, genuine innovation, and a long term impact on the people and communities we work with.
The people who make this possible
But if this award belongs to anyone, it belongs to the people who make CatZero work – our dedicated team who give everything they have for the families and participants we support; our incredible volunteers, who show up with heart, skill and compassion; and our partners and supporters who back us year after year. This success is about all of them.
That’s not to forget the participants on our programmes who turn up, throw themselves into the challenges, and show incredible bravery and strength. The CatZero programme doesn’t work without the participants fully committing to it, which enables our team, on land and sea, to do their work. It’s about attitudinal change – building confidence, resilience and self-belief and people need to be ready for that for our model to work.
This recognition arrives at a time when pressure across our sector continues to grow. Major funding streams such as UKSPF have been reduced or lost, and raising the resources needed to deliver our work is an ongoing challenge. Yet the need around us continues to grow. NEET numbers are high, as reported everywhere. Families across the Humber region are facing compounded crises, from mental health challenges to financial insecurity. These are not abstract statistics; they are the people we work with every day.
Against that backdrop, receiving Charity of the Year is both uplifting and grounding. It reminds us that the CatZero model works, and it confirms that our work has never been more vital.
Alongside us were two amazing charities, The Hinge Centre in Bridlington and Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University. How different we are as organisations, in what we do, highlights the strength of the sector in this region.
It was special to receive the award in front of so many businesses and organisations that have supported us throughout our seventeen years. I know that many local businesses choose to back local charities. I am proud they could see the real impact of their support.
And, in true CatZero style, our work didn’t stop for celebrations.
The morning after the awards, I joined colleagues from North East Lincolnshire at a Sport England Place Development leadership programme, exactly the kind of collaborative, practical conversation that helps us improve our regional offer. At the same time, our Families Team delivered a healthy cooking workshop, helping parents gain confidence and skills that make daily life a little easier. Meanwhile, our Employability Team were working with their current group in Hull, with some participants gaining valuable experience with Sewell Group, long term supporters of our work.
And still… There’s more to do
We’re proud. We’re grateful. We’re energised. But we’re also realists: the challenges aren’t shrinking. If anything, they’re growing. This award is a moment to recognise how far we’ve come – but also a moment to double down on what we know is true: the people of our region deserve chances, not barriers. Opportunities, not systems that fail them. We are fully committed to our belief that talent and potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and one of our jobs is to connect people to jobs that they would not have seen otherwise.
Thank you to everyone who believes in our mission and supports our work.