A GRADUATION ceremony to celebrate the ongoing success of a SheInspires Foundation ~ our social enterprise which upskills local women took place in Bolton Town Hall. The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, presented the certificates to women who had taken the Food Wise qualification – an accredited course in food, catering and hospitality.

This is part of the SheInspires’ initiative which has been working in the Bolton community for the past 12 years. It includes the SheInpires Awards, an annual cultural MasterChef competition, art for wellbeing and weekly cookery and art sessions.  

Praising the project, the Mayor explained how even the pandemic had failed to stop some of the events from taking place. 

“We had looked at different ways to engage with those taking part including zoom and video conferencing” says Gulnaz Brennan, the project leader for #Foodwise course, accredited by ASDAN and funded by European Social Fund. 

Stated the Mayor: “Through its social enterprise arm, “Sheinspires has upskilled a staggering 155 women via Zoom classes and workshops.”

All the women progressed to further learning for art and food courses: 18 went on to volunteering, 12 got jobs, six started their own catering ventures from home and five achieved university admission. The courses were funded by the European Union Social Fund.

Added the Mayor: “All this has been made possible with the help of a very dedicated team of tutors, admin and managers. So huge congratulations to them, in particular to Ray Hanks, Gulnaz Brennan, Dan Rowles and Afsana Patel.  

Among the latest group of women to receive awards at the event were Salma Badat, Safiyyah Badat, Kulthum Chohan and Fatimah Chohan.

Caption: The Salma Badat, Safiyyah Badat, Gulnaz Brennan, Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, and Mayoress Mrs Nargis Zaman, Kulthum Chohan and Fatimah Chohan. at the graduation ceremony.