Leeds trauma support charity got off the mark at Leadership Awards

There was a very special first for Lucy Nickson at the 2024 businessdesk.com Leadership Awards.

Four years ago she was hired to launch and run the Day One Trauma Support charity and the Leeds-based enterprise continues to grow from strength to strength. It operates in seven hospitals and since April 1 has spent more than 8,000 hours supporting more than 1,500 people impacted by trauma.

It was therefore richly deserved that Lucy was named our Leader of the Year in the Public and Third Sector category.

It was the first award Day One Trauma Support has received and has not been the only one. Just a few weeks ago it was named Case Merger Society Charity of the Year.

For any charitable organisation getting award recognition makes a big difference when it comes to raising its profile and especially so when the charity has been operating for such a relatively short period of time.

Lucy said: “Events like this give you an opportunity to speak about what we do and platform it. Every bit of help we get in raising awareness is very helpful.

“It is also helpful to be in a room with people who could become corporate partners, explain what we do and interest from them has been good.

“It was also obviously great that we were able to do lots of social media around it but what was really nice was the award was for more than charities like us operating in the third sector. The category was broader than that and there was a really broad range of organisations being considered.”

Day One Trauma started life as the Leeds Hospital Charity but for it to expand and get the necessary funding to make a huge difference, it had to delink from Leeds and stand alone.

Since then it has expanded its services to cover seven hospitals and 5,000 patients have been offered practical and manageable support in the last three and-a-half years.

Since April 1st the charity has handed out £82,000 in grants while another of their services, which pairs new patients with volunteers who have suffered trauma in the past, has seen huge growth. Almost 500 ‘conversations’ have been started as those, who really need support at a terrible time in their life, are getting it from others who know what they are going through.

Recognising those who get the leadership part of the job right deserve all the recognition they get and we will be doing it again at The Royal Armouries in Leeds on March 20th for the 2025 Leadership awards.

It’s free to enter but you don’t have much time left (November 8 deadline) so don’t be shy and get your entry in. Winning one of our awards has helped change people’s lives so click here to visit our awards website and get the recognition you deserve.

All 19 Leadership Awards categories:

* Young leader U-35
* Public and Third Sector Leader
* Sales & Marketing Leader
* Tech Leader
* HR Leader
* Hospitality (new for 2025)
* Education (new for 2025)
* Manufacturing (new for 2025)
* Mentor
* Emerging Entrepreneur Leader
* Diversity & Inclusion Leader
* Professional Services Leader
* Transformational Leader
* Green Leader
* Finance Leader
* Property Leader
* Company Leader (up to 100 employees)
* Company Leader (100+ employees)
* Leader of the Year