Denise gets a Big Tick for helping improve health in Scotland
29/6/2006
Paisley woman Denise Coulter has had her work in helping to improve the health of young people in some of Scotland's most deprived communities recognised with a prestigious award.
As learning and development executive with catering and support services provider Sodexho Scotland, Denise has been leading a team which has helped over 400 young people in eight schools in Glasgow and Edinburgh appreciate the benefits of healthy living.Now Denise has collected the BUPA Healthy Communities Big Tick award from Scottish Business in the Community - the lead organisation in Scotland promoting corporate social responsibility.
In 2003 Sodexho Scotland was among the pioneering companies joining Scottish Business in the Community that aimed to assist Glasgow schools that were not performing as well as others.
“As a major employer and foodservice company in Scotland, we could offer a great deal of expertise with regard to diet and nutrition,” said Denise. “After an initial success with 50 pupils at Lochend High School, Easterhouse, we formalised our approach and developed a programme called Health Matters in Scotland.
“Within this we included a session to give the pupils an understanding of food groups and what constitutes a balanced diet,” said Denise. “This was followed by a 'ready steady cook' type event for the young people and their parents. Later there was a fitness-can-be-fun day as well as an opportunity to go on work placement to build confidence and gain workplace skills.”
Schools in Glasgow which have participated are: Lochend Community High School; Barlanark Primary School; Hillpark Secondary School; and St Pauls at Pollok Secondary School. In Edinburgh, Castlebrae High School, Craigmillar and Craigroyston and Granton primary schools have taken part.
“Corporate responsibility is taken very seriously from the highest level at Sodexho,” said Denise. “Sodexho is a global company pursuing a strategy that demonstrates our social, economic and environmental commitments. We aim to further develop our Scottish programme during the coming year - and this recognition of what we have achieved to date can do nothing but spur us on.”
Earlier this year Sodexho was named in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies that Count supplement following the publication of the 2005 Corporate Responsibility (CR) Index results by Business in the Community (BITC).
