Gateway is awarded prestigious mark
Gateway Family Services has been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark in recognition for its efforts to tackle barriers to learning, employment and access to community healthcare. The mark is a fairtrade-style identity for social enterprises.
Social Enterprise Mark Vicki Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, is delighted that the company has been awarded such an accolade. For her, it is one more proof that Gateway's work contributes to eliminating the causes of deprivation.
"Service users arrive here unprepared for the workplace but we enable them to become work-ready and qualified; some even leave their training already employed. We aim to reduce inequality by bridging gaps in public service delivery and working in partnership with the NHS and local authority. Gateway creates specific job roles to address deprivation, such as our Pregnancy Outreach Workers", she says.
"If it were not for the efforts of our management team and enthusiasm from the staff, we would not have been given the right to use such an important mark. This shows that all in our company share the same ethos, which is our key strength", says the CEO.
Gateway Family Services started up in 2006, borne out of a department within NHS South Birmingham. Today, the company supports communities in many areas in Birmingham and the West Midlands and has built a very strong reputation due to its ethical approach to doing business.
The Social Enterprise Mark will give Gateway a competitive edge and it will also be used to promote the social enterprise movement in general. For the company it will be an opportunity to demonstrate that what it does helps communities in the long term and that profits contribute to doing just that and to allowing it to expand to help even more people.
Gateway Family Services
Born out of a Primary Care Trust in April 2006, Gateway Family Services is a Community Interest Company.
Our aim is to reduce inequalities in learning, employment and health.
We do this by offering supported training and employment opportunities in community health service delivery.
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