A WREXHAM charity has been recognised with a national award for its services to older people in the community.

The Rainbow Foundation has been selected as the overall winner of a top national award for its outstanding work offering health, care and wellbeing services to older people in rural communities across Wrexham and North Shropshire.

Following a rigorous selection and assessment process, The Rainbow Foundation was chosen from more than 400 charities across the UK as the overall winner of the 2023 GSK IMPACT Awards.

The charity was awarded the prize at a ceremony held in central London on Thursday, May 18.

As overall winners, The Rainbow Foundation will receive £50,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by leading health and care charity The King’s Fund. 

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Established in 1993 in Penley, The Rainbow Foundation has grown dramatically in recent years and now runs three wellbeing hubs across Wrexham, offering a range of services to support older people. 

As well as providing care and support, The Rainbow Foundation also runs programmes to keep people healthy. In 2022 the charity launched a physiotherapist-led class, ‘Active Futures’ for older people at risk of falls, designed to build their confidence, strength and resilience. 

Caroline Tudor-James, chief executive, The Rainbow Foundation, said: "We are thrilled and honoured to be chosen as the overall winner from a group of charities all doing such brilliant work in the health and care sector.

"It means so much to our team and volunteers to have their work recognised and we are so proud of what we do. We hope that the award will raise the profile of all our outstanding services, help us to advocate louder on behalf of older people in our community, and enable us to reach more people across Wrexham who would benefit from our support."

Richard Murray, Chief Executive, The King’s Fund, said: "The Rainbow Foundation does exemplary work to support older people in rural parts of Wrexham and Shropshire. Its approach is a brilliant example of a charity providing invaluable support where other health and care services are not available."

Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive, GSK, said: "The Rainbow Foundation is embedded in its local community, with cross generational activity and significant volunteering.

"They know that the small things and personal touches really make the difference to people’s lives, congratulations for being our overall winner."