The Atul Pathak Community Awards recognised the contribution of local charities and groups in Ealing.

Five groups from the borough were awarded at the House of Commons on July 1 for their efforts to make a difference to their community.

The award recipients were: Ealing Half Marathon, the well-known not-for-profit organisation focused on improving overall fitness across Ealing; Sunrise Tamil Community Centre in Southall, a community centre dedicated to helping elderly Tamils living in the UK; Getting Together, Hanwell, which aims to reduce isolation amongst the elderly and help with their health, such as fitness and diabetes; Voice of Dalit International, Ealing, which aims to empower the most poor and marginalized in society, with a focus, on Dalits, Untouchables and the Indigenous; Southall Sports Trust, Ealing, who work with the BME community to use the power of sports to build bridges and unite kids and young adults across the Southall community.

Seven awards were given by Mr Pathak, the managing director of the Appt Corporation, one of London’s leading McDonald’s franchisees which last year served over 15m customers at its 26 restaurants located across west and north London.

Each recipient was presented with a certificate to thank them for the fantastic work they do and a donation for them to put towards a particular project or objective.

The awards also included a ‘partnership pledge’ to give them access to Appt Corporation’s management team who can offer them additional, tailored support ranging from advice in marketing, PR, or finance, as well the use of their local McDonald’s over the next twelve months.

Speaking after the awards, Mr Pathak said: “Getting involved and supporting your local community is what these awards have set out to encourage.

"As a local business, our success relies heavily on the local communities in which we operate so it is important we engage and champion local organisations. These awards are a little way of saying thank you to the recipients for all that they do for the communities we are proud to a part of.”