100 Club Profile: Laura Edwards, Arena Group

Laura Edwards of Arena Group. 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 he loves about the city, and why she’s involved in the foundation.

What is your favourite thing about Leeds? 

Being a true Yorkshire girl, I love Leeds and all it has to offer. From the shops to restaurants and the culture, the city is constantly evolving. I think the thing I love the most though has to be the people. My career has always been people focused and I love constantly meeting interesting people from all different walks of life.

What would you change about the city?

Unfortunately the public transport lets the city down, for a city of our size we need a much stronger network to accommodate the number of people.

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

When we heard about the great work that the foundation is doing we knew we had to be part of the 100 club and support such a great initiative. As a business, charity is incredibly important. We offer two days annual leave per year for our staff to get involved in community activities and last year we fundraised £33,000 for local charities to celebrate 25 years in business. So it’s great to join a Foundation that so closely ties in with our company wide aspirations to help those in need across the community.

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

Children and education have always been a big focus for us. We have an award winning apprenticeship scheme that’s been running for over 20 years and sponsor Run for All Mini and Junior fun runs both of which are incredibly important to us. It is great to work with Leeds Community Foundation as they are not cause specific but address a number of local issues which affect our city.