BT has rewarded the TOFS charity with a grant of £700 to recognise the charity's commitment to providing emotional support to families of children born with Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula, Oesophageal Atresia and associated conditions.
The grant has been awarded through the company's employee recognition scheme, the BT People Awards.
The scheme recognises and rewards BT's volunteering heroes who offer their time and skills to help people in their local communities, by providing grants to organisations in which they are involved.
TOFS beat off national competition to win an award in the Education category of the awards for the contribution it makes to the local community.
TOFS (Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula Support) was set up in 1982 by parents of children born with TOF and associated conditions. Their aim was to reach out to other families in a similar situation.
Over 30 years on and now a registered charity, they continue to help families through the challenges of bringing up a child with TOF/OA, VACTERL and associated conditions. They do this by providing one-to-one support and a range of information and resources to families. TOFS is a recognised source of information for professionals with an interest in TOF/OA.
Diane Stephens, TOFS, said: "Without volunteers we could not support and educate as many families and professionals as we do. Volunteering is a special thing someone can do and we are eternally grateful for those people who do give up their time."
BT Business Partner Sales' Kay Leech volunteers for the charity and nominated it for the BT People Award. She said: "I got involved when my daughter, Harriet was born in 2008. The charity was there to support me and my family when I need them and I wanted to give something back.
"We have some fantastic ideas of how we can use this money to give the maximum benefit to both existing and new families and I can't wait to help those ideas become a reality."
451 applications were received for this round of grants and 84 applicants received awards totalling £50,980.
Applications were submitted by BT people from all over the world including Peru, India and Belgium. These included a wide range of community organisations from football clubs to police cadets to red squirrel protection, illustrating the wide variety of activities in which BT people are involved.
For more information please visit: www.btpeopleawards.co.uk