Gemma Love, manager of the Quart Pot, Runwell, has been awarded the British Institute of Innkeeping’s (BII) Heart of the Community Award in recognition for her hard work supporting her community during lockdown from March to July this year.
 
Gemma supplied over 1,500 sets of scrubs, scrub bags and hats to NHS frontline workers volunteering as a coordinator for sew4community; a local Essex organisation that coordinates local people to sew items of workwear for local people working in care roles.
 
The team at the pub have also supplied food to the homeless and packed lunches to children, funded by herself and her team, during half term.
 
The Heart of the Community award is uniquely not about competing companies or individuals against each other and recognises all those the industry body believes have gone above and beyond for their communities. Gemma is one of just 22 national recipients to have been recognised this year.
 
Gemma said: “We’re so proud and honoured to have been awarded this accolade by the British Institute of Innkeeping! The heroes at the NHS are working so hard during the pandemic and they were in need of PPE so I wanted to help out in any way I could. During half-term, it was a no brainer for us to make sure the children in our community had access to a hot hearty meal or a packed lunch and it was thanks to everyone who supported us that we were able to do that to the extent that we did. I am incredibly proud to be part of this community and we’ll do everything we can to continue to support everyone here again.
 
“It devastating to be going back into a second lockdown, but rest assured we will be working hard to support our community as we go through this another difficult period.”
 
The Quart Pot, Runwell Road, Runwell Wickford, SS11 7PN
 
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