A Swinton woman is hoping to bring the people in her town a little bit closer together after being nominated for an exciting new role as a Community Ambassador for the Halifax bank.
Tracy Clare (far left in picture above) is already a familiar face in the area after volunteering at a host of good causes in the local area over the last couple of years.
And Tracy, who is branch manager at the Halifax branch in Radcliffe’s Blackburn Street, said she was thrilled to be given the chance to make a difference to the lives of those around her.
Halifax has handpicked 70 members of staff from up and down the country who were selected for their love of helping people and wanting to bring about change in their lives.
As well as continuing with their day-to-day jobs, the Community Ambassadors will galvanise people to embrace and take part in the good causes Halifax already supports through the Big Lunch, Giving Extra Awards, and Home-Start volunteering as well as looking at new areas to make a difference.
And after being given the nod to take up the role the 47-year-old admits she can’t wait to get cracking.
“In the last few years Halifax has put lots of hard work and effort into supporting our local community,” she said.
“On a personal level I am a people person so I was delighted to be asked to be involved in this scheme.
“I get a lot from it myself as I enjoy going out and supporting the local community, and I thought there was no better way than this for me to also get involved with customers, local businesses, charities and things like that.
“I love coming up with fresh ideas and keeping charities alive, so it’s stretching me that little bit more and there’s a fun element to it.
“Supporting the community means absolutely everything, and the feedback from the customers has been that we have really made a difference for them, so it’s a big thing.”
The initiative is part of Lloyds Banking Group’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan, which aims to bring communities together and help them thrive.
For Tracy in the past that has meant being involved in a number of events and she admits there has been plenty of enthusiasm from all her colleagues to get involved.
“Lots of our colleagues have gone out into the community, doing things like painting in schools, tending gardens, building projects, doing up people’s homes, and loads of little projects that are very close to the branches,” she added.
“The Manchester North area has raised £2,456, which Halifax has doubled with matched funding, so we’re really proud of these initiatives.
“It’s working really well. We’re getting a really positive feedback, and it’s a great opportunity for my colleagues to get out of the branch and really make a difference.”
Halifax is helping people give extra in their communities, whether hosting a Big Lunch event, or making their community a better place to live. To find out more about how we’re helping people to go the extra mile in their community, visit www.halifaxcommunities.co.uk
