Chairman presented with Beacon Award

OnSide Youth Zones Founder and Chairman Bill Holroyd CBE DL has been rewarded for his fantastic philanthropic work with a Beacon Fellowship Award.

The biennial Beacon Awards celebrate the extraordinary and transformational achievements of individuals and families who have, each in their own various ways, brought about lasting social change through their conviction, their determination and their generosity. The awards celebrate their exploits with the hope of inspiring others to want to follow suit.

Bill is a prime example of this. His decision to develop OnSide stemmed from his time as Chairman of Bolton Lads and Girls Club, where he was overwhelmed by the positive impact it made on the lives of young people in the area.

Since the charity was established in 2008, Bill has worked tirelessly to build support for OnSide and each of the Youth Zones. In fact Bill contributes around 80% of his time to securing donations and developing links with Government.
Bill has extensive business and property interests in the UK and has been an investor in over 25 companies in the last 15 years.

The recent awards ceremony to celebrate Bill’s philanthropy was held at J. P. Morgan in London and was hosted by Gay Huey Evans, the Chair of Beacon Awards.
Kate Adie, former news correspondent for BBC News, introduced a video of Bill giving a brief overview on his charity OnSide Youth Zones.

Watch the video here:

On receiving the award, Bill Holroyd CBE DL commented:

“I would just like to thank everyone who has helped myself and OnSide Youth Zones along the way. Without you, this award would not be possible. The award is a huge honour for me and I am privileged to be named alongside so many other fantastic philanthropists. OnSide Youth Zones is a huge passion of mine and I am 100% committed to giving young people a safe and inspiring place to go in their leisure time. The more we can all help young people succeed in life, the brighter the future will be.”

OnSide Youth Zones Chief Executive Kathryn Morley commented:

“The OnSide team are proud and very grateful to have Bill leading our charity, he is an inspiration to us all. His passion and dedication to helping young people in their leisure time knows no bounds and because of Bill’s vision thousands of young people across the country now have somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to.”

The evening saw 12 Beacon awards being presented, along with a musical performance from Nicola Benedetti MBE and speeches from Sir Roger Gifford, Former Lord Mayor, City of London and Tracey Reddings, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

Bill was recently included in the Coutts Million Dollar Donors Report for 2014, which is renowned for celebrating and inspiring philanthropy around the world.