A FLINTSHIRE business is celebrating after making it to the shortlist for a prestigious business award.

The P&A Group are in the running for the Made a Difference category (sponsored by The Alternative Board) of the West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber Recognition awards.

The Group comprises Zest, a leading supplier of award winning timber garden products, The Woodworks Garden Centre and Café in Mold, P&A Pallets & Packaging and St Andrews Business Centre for leased and virtual offices.

Making a difference is one of the core values of the Group with the aim of ‘positively contributing to the communities in which it operates’, through fundraising, volunteer hours and donated resources.

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Managing director Steve Morgan said: “As an SME, everyone at the P&A Group is very proud of what we have achieved in terms of supporting the community by raising sizeable sums of money for various charities and engaging with the community through a range of different events.

“We encourage everyone to get involved with fundraising across all of our business divisions, which is good for our employees on a number of different levels. Not only are they giving back to the local community but many of these events also encourage being active, which promotes fitness, wellbeing and mindfulness for staff which is a core value of our company.

“Also, being a diverse group of businesses, it gives the opportunity for people who don’t work alongside each other every day to come together on a regular basis. This helps build a wider team spirit and ensures that all our employees have shared goals and understand their efforts are appreciated and celebrated in equal measure.”

Since 2011, employees at the Group have voted for a charity of the year and a fundraising target is set in the region of £10,000. Employees then suggest a collection of activities and events in which everyone can get involved, from marathons to fun runs to raffles and bake sales.

Over the last 11 years, P&A has raised in excess of £130,000 for the chosen charities. These include: Macmillan Cancer Support, Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith Children’s Hospices, Cancer Research UK, Action for Children, Alzheimer’s Society, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and, this year’s choice, the British Heart Foundation.

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In addition to raising money for its charity of the year, this year, the P&A Group also supported a key fundraising event for the charity My Name5 Doddie. Steve Morgan, along with three other local businessmen, completed a cycle challenge from Edinburgh to Cardiff, raising an impressive £28,500 thanks to the support of suppliers, customers and friends.

More recently, Rhys Hughes, P&A strategic development and supply chain director, spearheaded an initiative to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine.

Poland based P&A employee, Andrzej Dudziak, who has been helping at the Polish/Ukraine border, was in contact with one of the biggest charities in Poland, Caritas, which distributes aid.

Andrzej advised that aid was still required so P&A coordinated partners and many local businesses to fill an articulated lorry with much-needed provisions such as non-perishable food and first aid equipment which will benefit many in need.