Powered Now 
The Plumber Awards gave Powered Now a chance to reward a hard-working plumber with a £1,000 holiday voucher. Louchavan Lemard had something else in mind.
As a sponsor of the awards, we wanted to give the winner a well-earned break. But when Louchavan Lemard won, he decided to give his prize away to charity rather than keep it for himself.
His fundraiser has a simple goal: helping young people into work and creating opportunities that might otherwise pass them by. It was not what we had planned for our holiday prize, but it is a decision we are delighted to support.
Why We Sponsored The Plumber Awards
The thinking behind our prize was straightforward: hard-working plumbers deserve a break.
Working in the trade means more than doing a good job on the tools. For those running their own businesses, there are also customers to look after, jobs to organise, quotes to prepare and paperwork to finish. Taking time away means stepping back from all of it, not just putting down the tools at the end of the day.
When we agreed to sponsor The Plumber Awards, we wanted our prize to offer something the winner could enjoy outside work. A £1,000 holiday voucher felt like a fitting way to recognise that effort and give someone a well-earned treat.
Louchavan’s decision gave that prize a different purpose.
A Plumber Awards Winner Giving Back
Louchavan could have accepted the voucher, booked a break and enjoyed his prize. Instead, he chose to give it away to charity.
The focus of his fundraiser is not complicated: help young people get into work and access opportunities they might otherwise miss. By choosing to give away his prize, he put that goal ahead of a reward he could have enjoyed himself.
That generosity is why we wanted to share his story. An awards sponsorship usually gives us a chance to celebrate someone’s professional achievements. In this case, it has also given us a chance to recognise what that person has chosen to do for others.
Helping Young People Get Started
A first opportunity at work can mean much more than a payslip. It can be a chance to learn useful skills, take on responsibility, build confidence and discover what someone is capable of.
But getting started presents a familiar challenge: people need experience to demonstrate what they can do, and an opportunity to gain that experience in the first place. Someone who is willing to learn still needs a way in.
For anyone who began their working life as an apprentice, the value of being given that chance may feel particularly familiar. Having someone prepared to teach you, answer your questions and trust you with responsibility can make a lasting difference.
That is what resonates with us about the aim of Louchavan’s fundraiser. Helping young people into work is about giving them a chance to develop their abilities, rather than letting a lack of opportunity decide what happens next.
Why This Matters To Powered Now
Having hired many young people at Powered Now, we recognise the importance of giving people a start and the room to build their experience.
Nobody arrives in their first job knowing everything. There needs to be space to ask questions, learn from others and get better with practice. Looking beyond someone’s lack of experience and recognising their potential is an important part of that.
Our original intention was to reward hard work with a break. Louchavan’s decision connected that prize to another idea we believe in: helping people get the opportunity to work in the first place.
We are pleased to share Louchavan’s story on the Powered Now blog and help bring attention to his fundraiser.
Support Louchavan’s Fundraiser
Please take a moment to find out more about Louchavan’s fundraiser and consider supporting him.
Sharing the fundraiser with colleagues, friends or your wider network is another way to help more people hear about what he is trying to achieve.
Louchavan, thank you for choosing to give something back. We set out to offer a well-earned holiday, and you chose to put the prize towards helping others get their start. Well done, mate.
