Tolly Boy, a popular rice brand in the UK, recently awarded the winners of its Spread the Joy with Tolly Boy campaign - aimed to support African and Bangladeshi communities in the UK - at an event held at Wapping Youth Centre.
The ceremony saw the three winning groups – Wapping Bangladesh Association, Nigerian Community of Waltham Forest and Bangladesh Women’s Association – sharing details about the various projects they were working on for the benefit of their respective communities.
Present at the function were Nicolas Hanson, managing director Westmill Foods, Chris Craig, commercial director Westmill Foods, Ricly Oberoi, account director Westmill Foods and Steven Perry, senior brand manager Tolly Boy.
Wapping Bangladesh Association won the overall cash prize of £10,000. They hope to use the money to fund their healthy eating project amongst elderly people and to encourage them to come together for recreational activities twice a week.
Expressing his delight at winning the prize, Atikur from Wapping Bangladesh Association said: “We usually apply for straightforward funding because when mechanisms such as voting are involved, the feedback we receive is usually less positive as people are often reluctant. However, this campaign was different, with the Tolly Boy team encouraging us all the way and helping us spread the word. From family, friends to the wider community such as the mosque next door, everyone was motivated in spreading the joy since Tolly Boy was going to help the community in return.”
The Nigerian Community in Waltham Forest received the second prize amounting to £5,000 and they praised Tolly Boy for being “the favourite rice for the Nigerian community in the UK.”
The Bangladeshi Women’s Association bagged the third prize of £2,500, and they aim to use this money to provide additional classes for employment and training services.
Talking about the success of the Spread the Joy with Tolly Boy campaign, Steven Perry, senior brand manager of Tolly Boy said: “It was fantastic to see votes increase week by week and how community groups really took the initiative to improve their standing in the competition. Community groups from all over the UK - Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester and London, were devoted to spreading the joy and helping their community project win.”
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