Community events
Express & Star Business Awards
The Express & Star Business Awards shine the spotlight on the enterprises that represent the whole range of commercial activity across our region.
We want more firms than ever to recognise just how great they are and take part in these awards, competing for the attention they so richly deserve.
Cash for your Community
Since its launch in 2015, Cash For Your Community has handed over cheques totaling more than £80,000 to different community groups. This money has been used to help the often unsung organisations which do so much to make the region a better place. Applications for each yearly scheme open in January, when 35 groups are sought.
Once the groups have been chosen, it is the readers who will decide how the money is shared out by collecting tokens that are printed in the Shropshire Star. Each organisation will get a share of the money depending on how many tokens they have been able to collect.
Great Big Thank You Awards
The Great Big Thank You Awards celebrate the people in our region who go the extra mile and step up when they are needed – the people who make a positive difference to where you live and work.
From a devoted volunteer who puts in hours of unpaid work just to help people less fortunate than themselves to that special person you can always trust, maybe you know someone who deserves recognition?
STEM Challenge
The Shropshire Star and Express & Star STEM Challenge 2019 – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths – was created to boost student engagement with these key topics and also to give them an understanding of how what they learn in the classroom will play a vital role in future careers.
The competition is forging valuable links between local businesses and schools, while also providing students with an insight into the world of industry and the opportunities it provides. Each school signed up to the challenge is partnered with a mentor from businesses or organisations involved in the industry. Schools have been asked to design a product using the elements of STEM.
Community accolades
The MNA plays an established role in the local community and as part this, the circulation and editorial teams run various smaller civic style awards. These include chip shop of the year, most popular pub of the year and best Indian restaurant. These are judged through the number of tokens handed in by readers, plus a mystery shopper element.
The successes of these community awards bow down to the fact that there is a large sales uplift during the voting period, with the local people purchasing extra copies of the newspaper to collect the tokens.