Street Factory’s Toby G MBE in line-up for prestigious awards

Plymouth-based Street Factory’s MBE Toby Gorniak has been nominated for the hugely prestigious Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award in the Lockdown Heroes category for his inspirational services to the local community and his herculean efforts to help the wider community during the pandemic. In addition to this, he has made it to the finals in the SME National Business Awards within the Business Hero category seeing him invited to Wembley Stadium for the black-tie presentation evening on Friday 4th December 2020 where he will hopefully bring home the coveted accolade.  

The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, celebrate the achievements of truly remarkable people who make our world a better place. Nominations are now open for the 2020 Awards and the winners will be celebrated in a star-studded prime time special on ITV in the autumn. Anyone, of any age can be nominated for a Pride of Britain award for a single act of incredible courage, a long-lasting battle against the odds, or for inspirational campaigning. 

In Toby’s case, it is the continuation of his transformational mentoring programme ‘Creating Change’ which allowed him to continue to wrap his arms around those who needed him the most during the turbulent lockdown period that has inspired his nomination. His work continued to empower the members to reach their full potential, discover their own personal genius, and live their best lives despite the challenges of COVID-19. Toby and the team thrive from encouraging their staff and community members to use Hip Hop culture as a way to free their minds and channel any negativity into something positive. Toby’s desire to ensure that every young person, no matter their background, has a chance to be the absolute best they can be is so evident in their work. 

Street Factory, run by married couple Toby and Jo Gorniak, was set up 14 years ago and has since supported young people via access to Hip Hop dance sessions, mentoring, clothing, food and vital transport through an unspoken sponsorship based on their individual needs. Toby’s shortlisting comes at a great time as the organisation has very recently been awarded official charity status which will enable them to further help the people in the community who need it the most through fundraising, funding streams and Gift Aid. 

2020 is the fourth year of the SME National Business Awards. Made up of 16 categories, business awards are a sought-after accolade of achievement, a veritable endorsement of success in business and entries are judged by an expert panel of up to four judges who are leaders in their fields. 

Since the first Pride of Britain in 1999, royalty, prime ministers, and hundreds of leading figures from showbusiness, sport, politics and the arts have all taken part. Hosted by Carol Vorderman, the Awards attract an audience of around five million viewers every year in a primetime slot on ITV - making it the highest rated awards show of its kind on British television. The winners come from tens of thousands of public nominations and are whittled down to a shortlist from which the judging panel, made up of celebrated figures in national life.

Ben Arundel “Toby deserves to win all awards he is nominated for. Toby is not only my hero, he inspires me to better myself every day. He goes above and beyond in everything he does. Toby became a big part of my network in my battle with mental health problems and when lockdown began I almost panicked. But who was on the phone straight away? Toby was. I didn’t call him. He called me like he knew I needed someone.”  

Toby Gorniak MBE says, “I am Buzzin to be nominated for these awards and to think my community went out of their way to put me forward, So Blessed. At STF one of our core values is Respect and they have shown me so much of this by even thinking of me . I believe wholeheartedly that knowledge and life experience is something we should share, and have found educating young people, and my community to be so rewarding. Hip Hop liberates me and also given me the opportunity to transform lives.”

Some of the issues and challenges facing the Street Factory community include bullying, mental health issues of all kinds, low aspiration, racism, poverty, ageism, special and additional needs, homelessness, unemployment and lack of immediate opportunities. The Street Factory service therefore supports a major number of people through these personal journeys on a day-to-day basis.

Street Factory is also in the process of raising funds for its very own ‘Hip Hop Kingdom’, which will hold the first Hip Hop theatre in the UK, a music studio, film and media suite, community café, dance studio and a safe space for the community to call home. This international centre will be built in the heart of Plymouth and will unite people from all over, nurturing home-grown talent. The team is currently fundraising and is hoping to reach the target of 3.5 million by 2021.

You can nominate your hero at prideofbritain.com #ourprideofbritain #whosyours. If you are interested in the great work that Street Factory is continually doing for the community in Plymouth and beyond or to find out how to donate, please visit www.streetfactory.co.uk or the charity’s social media streams.

Issued on behalf of Street Factory by Excess Energy Communications. For further information please contact Else Welde on Else@excess-energy.co.uk