Join the Celebrating Forces Families (CFF) Awards Team in congratulating its four amazing finalists for the Small Business Award. The winner will be announced at a celebrity-presented Awards evening in London on 28th April.
This Award is for a military family member who has set up their own business due to the nature of a mobile lifestyle in the Armed Forces and made it the best it can be, no matter what size.
The finalists are:
- Jo Lomax – Huggable Heroes®️
- Jodie Woods - Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense West Dunbartonshire
- Shanae Argent – Tactical Paws Ltd
- Elisabeth Cane – LC Sports Massage Therapy
Jo Lomax – Huggable Heroes®️
Huggable Heroes®️ is a company
that creates handmade soft toys with photos of loved ones to support families
dealing with separation due to military service. Jo, the Founder, has worked
tirelessly to ensure that every family who needs a Huggable Hero receives one,
even finding ways to donate to charities and keep costs low. The toys provide
comfort to children dealing with bereavement, separation and other difficult
situations.
Jo says:
“I
feel so proud Huggable Heroes®️ has been nominated for this award, every day we
talk to families who are desperately struggling with separation from a loved
one and need a Huggable Hero to help ease the pain. After nine years of hand
making each one with a huge amount of love, our hearts still feel so full to
hear how one of our heroes has transformed a heartbreaking situation for a
family simply because their loved one is still with them in Huggable Hero form.
Thank you for making us at HH a finalist. Jo x.”
Jodie Woods – Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense
Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense West Dunbartonshire, run by Jodie Woods, offers structured classes to aid young children's development. She uses her business to promote awareness of sepsis and raise thousands for various charities, and her classes provide a great opportunity for parents to socialise, reducing isolation.
Jodie says:
“It
is an incredible honour and very overwhelming that someone took precious time out
of their day to nominate me.”
Shanae Argent – Tactical Paws Ltd
Tactical Paws Ltd,
based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was founded by Shanae to support the
RAF community by providing pet care services. Shanae goes above and beyond to
ensure that the pets and their owners' personal needs are met. She uses her
experience working in a vet practice to give a personalised service to every
pet in her care. The business has quickly gained popularity and is highly
valued by the military families it serves.
Shanae adds:
“I
am completely amazed! I started my business almost two years ago and the
support my community has given me brings tears to my eyes. I am so grateful!“
Elisabeth Cane – LC Sports Massage Therapy
LC Sports Massage
Therapy in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, was set up in 2010 to provide massage and
rehabilitation treatments to support Service personnel. Elisabeth committed to
trauma-informed veteran-aware training to better serve her military and veteran
clients. LC Sports Massage Therapy also partners with AWS and Community
Covenant to provide fully funded baby massage and toddler yoga classes for the
military community to combat isolation.
Elisabeth adds:
“It's
amazing to be recognised as a small business, juggling the challenges that come
with being a military spouse. I am honoured to be a finalist, thank you.“
Joint Small Business Award sponsors
are X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) and the Supporting the Unsung Hero
Programme. Collectively Ren Kapur MBE, XFE CEO, and Sarah Walker, from
Supporting the Unsung Hero (SUH) add the following:
“We feel privileged to support so many
inspiring individuals to start and grow their business and this award
recognises the determination, skills and resourcefulness of those within our
Armed Forces community. Both XFE and SUH work hard to collaborate and make sure
the breadth of what we can jointly offer meets as many needs in the community
as possible. We are honoured to sponsor the Small Business Award category
together.”
The Awards evening
Friday 28th April
2023 will see a formal dinner and awards ceremony held at the Victory
Services Club, London. The
Awards are supported by the Ministry of Defence through its Partner Employment
Working Group.
Actor and SSAFA
Ambassador, Antony Cotton is returning as guest presenter at the Awards. This
year he is also joined by actress and TV presenter Kym Marsh.
Follow the CFF Team as the 2023 events
unfold:
·
Twitter: @CFFAwards
·
Facebook: @CelebratingForcesFamilies
·
Insta: @celebratingforcesfamilies
Or browse the website: www.celebratingforcesfamilies.co.uk