Largest UK Turkish-Speaking Charity Wins ‘Frontline Team of the Year’ at Third Sector Awards

Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA) has been named the ‘Frontline Team of the Year’ at this year’s Third Sector Awards – widely regarded as the Oscars of the charity sector.

The award comes after the charity went above and beyond throughout the pandemic to co-ordinate the delivery of food packages, host vaccine drives, support local vaccination programmes, offer bereavement counselling, online health checks and much more across communities in the UK.

The charity, was founded in 1976 to provide help support and advocacy for Turkish speakers in the UK, the charity is now the largest of its kind and offers cultural, linguistic, and religious support to elderly and vulnerable people in need. The overall goal is to increase vulnerable individuals’ quality of life and equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to survive without having to accept government benefits.

At the start of the pandemic, TCCA began to receive a high volume of calls from people who were struggling due to self-isolating, unemployment or bereavement. Within a day, the charity had mobilised a team of volunteers to provide the support and care needed within the Turkish Speaking community and beyond.

Working alongside local councils it led a team of volunteers, 11 other charities, TCCA was able to provide a much-needed lifeline to its community. In total, TCCA delivered 7,600 food parcels to 600 homes and prescriptions to over 100 people by the end of March 2021. In addition they also provided hot meals to 3 hospitals, 4 care homes, 2 fire stations, 10 community centres and a local police station.

Despite limitations at the height of the pandemic, TCCA were able to quickly set up new services and initiatives that served their communities in a time of great need, this included an extremely successful Vaccine campaign that led to many anti-vaxxers getting vaccinated. This quick-thinking rapid response impressed judges at the recent Third Sector Awards who awarded them with Frontline Team of the Year over several other important UK charities.

CEO of TCCA, Erim Metto said, “When the pandemic started, we saw no other option but to help the people in our community who needed us. After receiving many calls from struggling individuals, we came together as a team to help in any way we could. We’re so proud that our work was recognised at the Third Sector Awards, but even more proud to think of all the people we’ve supported over the course of such a challenging year.”

As a charity, TCCA is dedicated to bridging the gaps that can often lead to inequality and poverty for Turkish-speaking people in the UK. They have been able to do this through the development of a wide range of needs-led projects in their community.

To find out more about TCAA’s vital work in the Turkish-speaking community, visit: http://tcca.org/