100 Club Profile: Laura Morris, Trinity McQueen

Laura Morris is a director at Leeds-based market research agency Trinity McQueen.

She is a member of the Leeds Community Foundation’s 100 Club, a patronage scheme for individuals who are motivated to make a difference in Leeds.
Here, she discusses what she loves about the city, and why she’s involved in the foundation.
What is your favourite thing about Leeds?

Leeds is such a fantastic city. I’ve lived here over 10 years now and witnessed first-hand how the city has evolved and changed over that time. There’s a real buzz to the place from the emergence of new shopping attractions such as Trinity and Victoria Gate, to the fantastic array of bars, cafes and restaurants that have popped up (a personal favourite is Iberica on East Parade), to the innovative and forward thinking developments to the built environment e.g. Leeds train station south entrance, the developments taking place right now in Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds Dock etc. Leeds offers everything a good city should – a great music scene, fantastic culture and arts, great shopping – what’s not to love! There’s plenty of green space too. It takes me 5 minutes from our offices on Sovereign Street to get to the Leeds-Liverpool canal which I love running along in summer.

What would you change about the city?

Improved rail links – especially to other Northern hubs such as Manchester and Liverpool. It would help to open up the North and ensure we can be truly competitive economically as a region. I’d personally also love it if Leeds were to host more sporting events – something like the Commonwealth Games would be fantastic as an aspiration. I think we should aim high as a city.

Why did you decide to join the Leeds Community Foundation’s 100 Club?

The short answer to this is impact. As a business we believe it’s really important to not only be part of a thriving economic area but a compassionate one. It’s important that organisations like ours contribute to the local area – not only in terms of employment and investment but in terms of giving back to the local community. The Leeds Community Foundation helps us achieve that but ensures our investment is directed in areas where we will have the best impact. It’s much more effective than contributing in silos. We loved the idea that we’d be part of a business community all driven by the same goal and ethos and that our employees would get to see first-hand how our contributions have helped local charities and initiatives.

What community issues are important to you and/or your organisation?

Mental health issues are a big area of focus, and particularly supporting young people with these. Some of the team at Trinity McQueen recently attended the LCF event ‘Encouraging Happy Young Minds’ at which Prince Harry spoke at on this very subject. Tackling homelessness is another important cause – many of us walk to work via the ‘dark arches’ in Leeds and it’s tragic to see the number of people sleeping rough which seems to be growing. As a growing SME ourselves we are also keen to support those who have a brilliant business idea but who need funding to get it off the ground. It’s important that we encourage entrepreneurship within Leeds.

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