Generosity shines bright at awards night

Amarjit Singh, Chairman of the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, presents a cheque for £1,700 to Sally Crerar, Head of Community Fundraising, and Julia Clark, Director of Fundraising at Yorkshire Cancer Research

YABA guests raise £1,700 for charity

It may have been organised as a night to celebrate the leading Asian businesses across Yorkshire yet last month’s YABA awards also showed the generous side of professionals as funds were raised for charity.

The Yorkshire Asian Business Association (YABA) marked the beginning of their new partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research at their annual awards dinner on Thursday 24th September.

Having recently announced plans to work together to improve cancer awareness and outcomes among Asian communities, a total of £1,700 was raised on the night through generous donations.

CHARITY: YABA Chairman, Amarjit Singh (right), said he was pleased to see the association forging a relationship with Yorkshire Cancer Research (pictured with special recognition award recipient, Amjad Pervez)

Charles Rowett, Chief Executive Officer at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said the charity’s relationship with YABA will help address ‘significant issues’ across Yorkshire.

“The YABA Awards Dinner was a great celebration of hard work, perseverance and innovation,” he said.

“There was an enormous passion and enthusiasm for Yorkshire and a real commitment to family and community.  The support for Yorkshire Cancer Research on the night was very much appreciated.

“More importantly, our relationship with YABA and their connections with Asian business leaders will help us to address significant issues across Yorkshire and especially in Bradford.”

Statistically there are distinct cancer problems within Asian communities that are often worse than those affecting other groups.

These include significantly lower rates of participation in national screening programmes for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

There are also higher levels of diagnosis through emergency presentation within Asian communities, which often means the cancer is detected at a later stage when it is more difficult to treat.

Amarjit Singh, Chairman of YABA, backs the campaign and is looking forward to working more with the charity in coming months.

“We were very pleased with the support that the Asian businesses gave to Yorkshire Cancer Research at the YABA awards last week,” he said.

“Moving forward, YABA will be facilitating meaningful and interactive discussions on how Yorkshire Cancer Research is going to build on this relationship to start engaging with the Asian community.

“The community needs to know how the charity will provide knowledge of their services on avoiding, surviving or coping with cancer.”  

For more information about Yorkshire Cancer Research, please visit www.ycr.org.uk, or to learn more about YABA, head to www.yabaawards.com

GENEROUS: £1,700 was donated by guests at the YABA awards

The YABA Awards 2015

Commending the region’s top Asian businesses

The Yorkshire Asian Business Association’s (YABA) Annual Awards and Gala Dinner comes  to Bradford for the first time later this month with a host of the region’s leading business brains coming together for a night of celebration.

On Thursday 24th September, 500-plus leaders from across the county will attend the black-tie event as awards are handed out in six categories to businesses nominated from across the public and private sector.

Judges will be looking for the impact on customers, suppliers, partners and the region, innovation and leadership, as well as reasons the nominee stands out against their peers.

Finalists have already been named for each category ahead of the prestigious awards evening (see right) and YABA Chairman, Amarjit Singh, says he is excited to see who clinches the highly-decorated awards this year.

“Since the Yorkshire Asian Business Association’s formation, we have continued to go from strength-to-strength,” he said.

“Our board consists of experts from across the government, education, business and voluntary sectors and across almost every discipline.

“What unites us is our passion for business and delivering value to our members and the region.

“This year our theme is ‘Celebrating Success’ in line with the huge amount of achievement and progress we have made together with our members and business partners.

“I’m excited to, for the first time, recognise our YABA award winners on stage in Bradford as we recognise some of the region’s best organisations and individuals.”

Having received a high number of entries from businesses all over the region, from start up’s to large corporations, the shortlist was finally confirmed last week.

Providing a platform and voice for its members on a regional, national and international level, YABA’s business awards showcase the best of the region’s talent, presenting an opportunity for entrepreneurs to come together and celebrate success.  

Amongst the hundreds in attendance, special guests confirmed on the night include members of the Indian High Commission, Sri Lankan High Commission, Bangladeshi High Commission, National Asian Business Association, UK Indian Business Council and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Mr Singh added: “On behalf of the YABA board and executive team we would like to thank all who submitted entries and for our shortlisted finalists we wish you the best of luck.”

For further information about the awards, including how to purchase tickets, please visit www.yabaawards.com or contact Sharon Yandu on 07807 474 885, email: sharon@yaba.uk.com

The 2015 YABA Finalists:

Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year

Sukhvinder Javeed -  MilkysnugzTM

Naeem Sheikh – Pegasus Motor Insurance

Sayam Majid – FX Introducer

Food & Drink Business of the Year

Shakoor Ahmed – MyLahore

Bobby Patel – Prashad

Professional of the Year

Surender Munjal – Leeds University

Qari Asim – DLA Piper

Arnab Basu – Kromek Group

Arif Ahmad – PwC

International Business of the Year

Sharon Kaur – Really Indian Ltd

Sukhvinder Javeed – MilkysnugzTM

Arnab Basu – Kromek Group

Retail Business of the Year

Ahmed Mulla – Mullaco Dewsbury Ltd

Thakorlal Bhagubhai Patel – TB Cash & Carry

Zak Patel – Talk Direct

SME Business of the Year

Thakorlal Bhagubhai Patel – TB Cash & Carry

Zak Patel – Talk Direct

The Street Lane Bakery

Parvinder Bhabra – Northern Cam Co Ltd

Ricci Dean – Pearl Noir