An app which mobilised volunteers to shop for vulnerable people during the pandemic is among the winners in London’s top responsible business gongs.

Described as an ‘Uber for volunteers’, onHand, which matches volunteers with projects in need of help, won the Lord Mayor’s Award for Innovation During COVID-19 in the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards.

The company is one of six winners in the awards, held every year by the City of London Corporation to recognise businesses which build strong community relationships, tackle disadvantage or inequality, promote inclusion or boost skills.

The winning schemes include an online tutoring platform to help children with their maths skills during lockdown and an initiative aimed at building skills in young people.

The winners were announced on Thursday 29 April at a virtual awards ceremony from Mansion House hosted by Lord Mayor William Russell and businessman and former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell.

The winners were:

Inclusive Employment Award: TrueCue for its ‘Women in Data Hackathon’ scheme. The data management company provided a platform for women and girls who want to get into or develop their careers in data. Inspirational talks from industry practitioners, upskilling opportunties and mentoring supported women in girls to get into the tech industry.

Boosting Social Impact Award: Q5 for its ‘Q5’s Pop-Up Consulting’ initiative. The organisational change consultancy established the pop-up consultancy in March 2020 as the nation went into lockdown. They offered 1-2 day consulting interventions for charities and small businesses that were in need of support due to the pandemic. They helped charities, social enterprises and small businesses in areas such as marketing, strategy and planning, leadership development and more.

Lord Mayor’s Award for Innovation During Covid-19: onHand for its ‘Doing Good During Covid’ scheme. The volunteering app’s misson is to be the ‘Uber for volunteering’. During the first Covid-19 peak, onHand began offering volunteering opportunities to connect volunteers with people in need of help.

Regional Impact Award: Marsh McLennan for its ‘Surviving to Thriving’ programme. Marsh McLennan partnered with the British Red Cross to build more resilient UK communities through combining skills and expertise in disaster preparedness and emergency response. Together with the British Red Cross and the Refugee Council, Marsh McLennan supported unaccompanied refugees and asylum seekers in Leeds and Birmingham.

Community Partners Award: Skills Builder for its partnership with UBS. The partnership helps build the essential employability skills to succeed. Everyone involved is committed to using the Skills Builder Framework as a common language and shared approach to developing and measuring essential skills, in order to minimise the barriers to success for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, achieving collective impact and ensuring system-wide change.

Heart of the City Award: WeAgile for its ‘Digital Used for Good’ programme. The digital creative studio supported communities through the pandemic through its free tutoring platform, building websites for charities, hosting webinars for charities, supporting its hospitality clients with free digital products and more.

William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London, said:

“This extraordinary year has presented enormous challenges for individuals and organisations across London and the UK, and has highlighted more than ever the important role businesses can play in working for the benefit of their communities.

“I was really impressed with the innovative, creative and impactful ways companies, which have themselves faced difficult times during the pandemic, have given their time and effort to help make a positive impact on people’s lives.”

onHand CEO Sanjay Lobo added:

“The feedback from the people we’ve been able to help has been fantastic – we’ve had people calling us in tears or leaving handwritten notes for volunteers. At a time when they weren’t able to have any physical contact, this was a vital way for people to have some human interaction.

“The success of schemes like this shows the huge amount of goodwill that exists across the UK. Winning this award is really humbling and builds on the incredible momentum building for businesses doing good and delivering profit with purpose.”