Joanna Cherry QC nominated for civilian interest award

Joanna Cherry QC, MP for Edinburgh South West is the first member of Parliament from the SNP to be shortlisted for the 4th Annual Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award.

The award recognises outstanding politicians and diplomats who are representing civilian interests at the highest level in areas of policy, social and business overall. Ms Cherry was shortlisted from over 100 politicians this year for the creative initiative of the Office Advent Challenge.

In December 2015, Ms Cherry challenged her staff to get involved in supporting local organisations and campaigns for the month of December in all areas of Edinburgh South West. This provided her staff with the perfect opportunity to volunteer their time serving the community and create lasting relationships with organisations that were truly making a difference on the ground.

In the days running up to Christmas, Ms Cherry’s team planned to be even more visible on the streets of Edinburgh South West, from the city centre to more rural areas, covering the whole constituency geographically.

From attending Broomhouse School’s Christmas Service at St David’s to serving Christmas lunch for members of the elderly community at the Dove Centre, members of her staff took to the ground from the first day of December, including weekends up until Christmas Day to get to know the local community better.

During this time, sixteen organisations were visited and Ms Cherry and her staff continue to be involved with the organisations on a regular basis. Some of the projects and organisations that were offered support include the Big Sing Project, Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled, the Dove Centre, Wester Hailes Youth Agency, and Social Bite.

Commenting on why she initiated the challenge, Ms Cherry remarked: “I am continually amazed by the number of individuals and organisations who give so much back to their communities and as an office, we want to support as many as we can, particularly in the run up to Christmas.

“Edinburgh South West is built upon the dedication and passion of hundreds of people prepared to make a difference and OfficeAdvent enabled my office to see that first hand.”

Talyn Rahman-Figueroa, executive director of Grassroot Diplomat, said: “All too often, we hear stories of our governments not representing our needs but Grassroot Diplomat looks upon selfless individuals in a position of power, who work tirelessly for their communities.

“The award seeks to create a culture of positive role models within our governments which encourages others like them to follow suit. Grassroot Diplomat winners go beyond their job descriptions and those shortlisted for the award should be proud to be recognised this far.”

The #OfficeAdvent initiative draws upon the importance on keeping close to grassroots action whilst also providing the opportunity for constituents to get to know their newly elected Member of Parliament.

The gala dinner at The May Fair Hotel, London will be held on Wednesday 20th April, 2016. For ticket information click here.