Hotel going for gold after two armed forces awards

The George Washington Hotel in Usworth is aiming to provide a regional hub for the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) initiative, which aims to find suitable jobs for ex-servicemen and women.

After attaining a bronze award from the AFC earlier this year, the hotel has now been presented with the organisation’s silver award and is aiming for the highest gold honour in 2021.

The AFC supports serving personnel, service leavers, veterans and their families. It is supported by local authorities as well as thousands of businesses across the country. At its heart is a voluntary pledge form organisations not to discriminate against members of the armed services.

It focuses on helping members of the services community to have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizens, and not be disadvantaged or marginalised.

The George Washington gained the silver award, mainly for their efforts to become a hub for AFC work.

The hotel has hosted two signings to the Covenant with over 300 businesses across the region joining the initiative, including Heineken, AFS Logistics and food wholesalers AF Blakemore & Son.

The hotel itself has also adjusted its policy to accommodate additional leave for reservists. It has committed to actively seeking to employ ex-service personnel.

General manager Ian Gray said: “It was an honour for the hotel and for the staff to receive the silver award so quickly after the bronze - it underlines the fact that we are stepping up our commitment to tackling the issue of helping military personnel once they leave the Forces.

“These awards are hard-earned but well worth it because of the importance of the campaign.”

“The hotel is very proud of its ongoing and developing links with the Armed Forces, whose job it is to keep us all safe.

“Being part of the Armed Forces Covenant not only makes business sense, but also helps demonstrate commitment more broadly to our Armed Forces and to promoting British values.

“One of our targets in 2021 is to go for gold and have the clean sweep of awards."

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