Yorkshire Charity Earns European Recognition

A Yorkshire charity that supports children and young adults with motor disorders is hoping that the sky’s the limit, after scooping a European award for its new hi-tech website. 
 
As part of a website redesign by Doncaster-based agency MultiWebMarketing, it’s become quicker and easier for supporters to make donations to Paces and this, along with a fresh new design, has caught the attention of a European judging committee.  
 
The new website – launched in July – has been crowned the Best European Website and User Experience Designers at the prestigious NYX Awards. 
 
Paces’ Head of Fundraising and Communications, Julie Booth, said: “It’s absolutely amazing. The feedback from all of our staff and supporters has been fantastic. It’s easy for people to see what we do and get behind us.” 
 
Based in Sheffield, Paces specialises in life-changing support by providing conductive education for individuals with conditions such as cerebral palsy, Stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s. Since the website launched, there have been more than 20,000 views as well as over 8,500 new users and an increase in sponsorship made online.  
 
This is in addition to £25,000 saved by the charity, courtesy of a generous pledge by MultiWebMarketing to carry out the work completely free of charge as its chosen charity of the year. 
 
“A huge thanks goes to MultiWebMarketing. We’ve been overwhelmed with their support,” said the charity’s Corporate Partnerships Manager, Dave Hall. “The website is such a pivotal part of the charity and has been something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but it’s just such a massive job with a huge investment of time and money needed.” 
 
To put the value of this into context, this level of funds saved on marketing activity can be used to buy specialist conductive education equipment, which helps children supported by the charity with life-changing skills, such as sitting, standing, walking, speaking and eating. It is key to helping them to become independent in their daily lives. 
 
ONE MORE FOR THE COLLECTION… 

Not only is this new website helping to meet the charity’s strategic objectives but it is also a first-ever European award for MultiWebMarketing, in the year the team is celebrating its 10-year anniversary.  
 
This comes on top of a previous 27 national and international awards won during the past decade. 
Founder Paul Smith said: “Obviously, this is a proud moment for us all. This award is up there with the Oscars of our industry, awarded by an esteemed judging panel, and puts our work alongside some terrific brands, such Disney, Jaguar and even Microsoft” 
 
The NYX Awards are held annually to celebrate marketing excellence with a focus on world-class design. 
 
 
Leading the ongoing social communications project at the agency was Client Account Manager, Kelly White. She said: “One of our primary objectives was to make it much easier for people to make donations as this is what really makes a difference. We’ve also worked hard to create a fun brand for people to interact with.”  
 
Commercial Director, Lewis Smith, was keen to pay tribute to the collaborative nature of the award-winning website. He said: “Paces had a vision (for the website) but perhaps didn’t quite know how they wanted it to look. It’s a testament to their flexibility that has allowed us to be able to inject plenty of personality into the website. 
  
“When we decided to put it forward for the award, it was to see what the judges thought of the work. Realistically, we hoped we would be shortlisted, but to win was a bit of a surprise; one which we are delighted with, of course.” 
 
The charity was equally chuffed with the award and was presented a trophy at the agency’s head office in a surprise meeting arranged to share the news. 
 
Dave added: “It’s clearly a fantastic website, and it’s great to have an award to show for it – I absolutely will be telling everyone about this. It will give the whole team a boost and shows what a strong relationship we have formed with MultiWebMarketing. 
 
“What I love most about the website is that it’s so vibrant and engaging – it feels like it really encompasses what Paces is as a charity now.”