New Chair Champions Role of Social Enterprises in Hampshire
SCA CEO Maria Mills (pictured right) has become the new Chair of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Social Enterprise Network (H&IOWSEN). H&IOWSEN is an open network dedicated to raising the profile and impact of social enterprises in Hampshire.
As the country celebrates Social Enterprise Day 2011 on November 17th, Maria said social enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in society.
“With tough economic times and cuts in public spending, social enterprises are becoming increasingly important providers of services for the most vulnerable people in society and are also leading the way in environmental change,” said Maria.
“Many social enterprises are also very innovative and adaptable, using business skills combined with their social aims to find creative ways of addressing social and environmental problems.
“There are around 3,800 social enterprises in Hampshire and they account for a turnover of over £1 billion. Social enterprises employ many people, have a huge social impact and provide a useful bridge between public services and conventional business – they are here to stay.”
National Social Enterprise Day on Thursday November 17 aims to showcase social enterprises all over the country and highlight the contribution they make to society. The campaign aims to encourage more people to buy from social enterprises and to choose them for business to business and personal services.
Social enterprises are businesses driven by a social or environmental purpose. There are 62,000 of them in the UK, contributing over £24bn to the economy and employing approximately 800,000 people (2005-2007 data from the Annual Survey of Small Business UK).
As with all businesses, they compete to deliver goods and services. The difference is that social purpose is at the very heart of what they do, and the profits they make are reinvested towards achieving that purpose. Well known examples of social enterprises include The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen, and the fair-trade chocolate company Divine Chocolate.
Some examples of social enterprises in Hampshire and IOW are:
- Ethical film company Shedlight Productions - www.shedlightproductions.co.uk
- Sector Mailing Services, providing work experience for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems - www.sectormailing.org.uk/page3.html
- Rise Computers, working in computing, community and inclusion - http://riseone.org/
- Southsea Greenhouse Co-operative Ltd, selling local produce - http://southseagreenhouse.co.uk/
- Hilsea Lido Pool for the People, preserving Hilsea Lido for the community - http://www.hilsea-lido.org.uk/
- Visual Vibrations, multi-media art and expression - http://www.visualvibrations.org/
- Four Paws Aqua, dog hydrotherapy pool -http://fourpawsaqua.co.uk/
- Hey Big Spender, combating addiction to spending – http://www.heybigspenders.co.uk/
- James Rose Productions, film-making – http://www.jamesrose.com/
- The Shaw Trust, helping disadvantaged people to find work - http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/home
- Emmaus, furniture recycling project for homeless people – http://www.emmaushampshire.org.uk/
- Freeset, selling Fairtrade products – http://www.freesetbags.co.uk/
- Community Matters Partnership, linking communities and business - http://www.communitymatterspartnership.org.uk/
- NeB Media, social media consultancy - http://www.nebweb.co.uk/index.php
Hampshire also has its own School for Social Entrepreneurs, run by Community Action Hampshire. There are still places for next year’s cohort of students, for anyone who is considering setting up a social enterprise, with a deadline for applications of 25th November. Find out more at http://www.hsse.org.uk/ or email hampshire@sse.org.uk
To find out about the Hampshire and IOW Social Enterprise Network go to http://www.se2partnership.co.uk/networks.asp?n=6
