Charity Times award nomination

9th September 2009

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The British Forces Foundation, along with British Airways, was shortlised for the 2009 Charity Times Awards Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year.

It was in recognition of the work undertaken at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus where the old and outdated departure lounge for troops leaving for Afghanistan and Iraq were transformed using furniture and fittings flown in from British Airways’ former luxury pavilion departure lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal Four.

Now personnel can relax using some of the furniture enjoyed by customers travelling in the airline’s prestigious Club World, before being deployed on missions.

Troops returning from active duty will also use the refurbished lounge to unwind, after their 36-hour decompression period in Cyprus to acclimatise to their new surroundings before returning home to the UK.

Andrew Crawley, head of sales at British Airways, said: "It was a real honour for us to be able to offer our help to upgrade the lounge in RAF Akrotiri for troops to relax and unwind in prior to their return to the UK. It was an opportunity for us to support our boys and demonstrate to the Ministry of Defence how much we value their continued support of British Airways."

Winner of last year's Charity Times' Principal of the Year, Mark Cann, Director of The British Forces Foundation, said: “This was a great idea and an opportunity for the BFF to capitalise on its already healthy relationship with BA. It is a visual statement to the men and women of the Armed Forces who are travelling to and from operations, that they are valued and appreciated at all times.

“The BFF which is well known for delivering morale projects, is able through this lounge and the fantastic help of BA, to say to the troops; they are important, never forgotten and deserve the best whenever and wherever it can be delivered.”

The Charity Times Awards Gala Dinner was hosted this year by the comedian Chris Barrie and the winner of the Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year was SolarAid.

Andrew Holt, editor of the Charity Times said: "This year's judging was exceptionally tough, as the calibre of entries in all categories was very high. Given the strong field, all finalists can take pride in their achievements.

"You are all shining examples of excellence and best practice for the sector, and I wish you every continuing succcess."