Microgaming is excellent sponsor of Awards for Excellence

Microgaming is sponsoring the award for Corporate Social Responsibility at this year’s Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence.

This is an especially appropriate category for the gaming software company as they won the award last year, and also in 2012, with a hugely impressive CSR programme that is continuing to expand and evolve.

Last year’s win coincided with the launch of Microgaming PlayItForward, an initiative that sees the company’s already wide-ranging community involvement given a more structured approach with its own branding, along with a dedicated website, microgamingplayitforward.co.uk.

PlayItForward covers six core areas: sport, education, charity, healthcare, community and ambassadors. The longest standing element is the Microgaming Health and Care Trust: established in 2002, it has to date donated over £800,000 to Manx-registered charities, and health and social care projects across the island. More than 50 local charities have received financial support. This year alone the Trust has purchased a Breast Coil for Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, equipment for the establishment of the island’s first Powerchair Football Club and contributed to Isle of Man Sport Aid’s new Ultrasound machine.

Education is another area to receive support, in the form of education bursaries, launched in 2014. Working closely with Microgaming, the Department of Education and Children coordinates and manages the programme. Four students benefitted last year from bursaries designed to cover all the essential living and accommodation costs, up to £6,000 each. For the current academic year (2015-16), Microgaming is helping a total of seven students attend university.

Sport and fitness is very much a part of the Microgaming culture: fresh fruit is delivered to their offices every morning, and professional training sessions are held in the on-site gym every week.

Three inspirational sportspeople act as ambassadors, representing both the company and the island: Joseph Ricciardi, a young triathlete; Commonwealth Games swimmer, Laura Kinley, and long distance runner Keith Gerrard.

Microgaming is renowned locally for supporting events, including the Douglas Soapbox Race and Isle of Man Marathon and Half Marathon. Staff not only take part but also volunteer their spare time to help make the events run smoothly. Furthermore, staff set their own community initiatives, such as the Forget Me Not remembrance garden at Ard Jerkyll where they donated money and time to complete the project.

Microgaming has demonstrated its commitment to the island with a massive investment to build a new office in Douglas, necessitated by the company’s continued expansion.

The project will provide significant economic benefits to the island; Manx companies are carrying out the construction and over 90% of the workforce is local.

Just across the road from their existing offices, it will have a state-of-the-art look and feel with a sky bridge walkway connecting it to the current building. In addition, BREEAM, the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings, is being applied to the building.

A long time involvement with the Awards for Excellence, both as entrants and sponsors, also reflects Microgaming’s commitment to the local community.

‘We have been involved with the Awards for Excellence for a number of years now. Winning, and sponsoring, the award for Corporate Social Responsibility demonstrates the importance of CSR to us. We are looking forward to passing it on this year to another company that also invests in the local community and gives something back – that is very exciting for us,’ said Claire Coleman, Head of Microgaming PlayItForward.

Claire went on: ‘The Isle of Man is a very generous island and there are a lot of companies over here that do an awful lot.

“But they don’t always realise just how much they have been doing until they sit down and actually fill out the entry submission and analyse it all.

“We congratulate all of the shortlisted companies in this category, and wish them the best of luck on the night.’

-IOM Today