Eighteen entrepreneurs from School for Social Entrepreneurs Midlands (West Midlands cohort) have graduated from the 2015/16 cohort of the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, in partnership with School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), at a ceremony at Studio Venues, Birmingham.
The entrepreneurs have participated in the year-long programme, benefiting from financial support and comprehensive learning support including a business mentoring scheme. The entrepreneurs all received Start-Up grants of £4,000 from The Big Lottery as part of the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, and this – together with the action learning programme delivered in partnership with School for Social Entrepreneurs, and support from their Lloyds Banking Group mentor – has enabled them to take their social enterprises to the next level and plan for the future.
Launched in 2012, the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, in partnership with School for Social Entrepreneurs, is designed to support social entrepreneurs in communities and, through them, help stimulate economic growth and regeneration across the UK. Recent research by CAN Invest and Investing for Good demonstrates the positive impact of the programme on people, businesses and communities: by 2017 the programme will have created over 7,000 jobs and supported 1.1 million beneficiaries. The programme is also supported by The Big Lottery Fund.
Paula Rogers, Head of the Social Entrepreneurs Programme at Lloyds Banking Group said: “This year’s cohort of students has made significant progress since joining the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, in partnership with School for Social Entrepreneurs, and it is fantastic to see them developing their ideas and businesses first-hand with the support from the programme. As part of our commitment to helping Britain prosper, we are proud to witness the considerable impact these social entrepreneurs are having in their communities and wish them all success for the future”.
Charles Rapson, CEO of SSE Midlands said, “We have an outstanding group of social entrepreneurs graduating from the 2015/2016 cohort and the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme has played a considerable role in supporting their development this year. We look forward to watching their continued success and positive impact they are making in their local communities”.
Already, in their first year of business, these eighteen West Midlands based social entrepreneurs, alongside nineteen social entrepreneurs from the East Midlands cohort at SSE Midlands have created 50 paid jobs, engaged 77 people as volunteers and helped over 4,200 disadvantaged individuals. Since SSE started in the Midlands in 2013, the 83 social entrepreneurs they have supported, have created over 250 jobs, engaged over 1000 volunteers and helped over 17,000 disadvantaged people.
The eighteen students who have graduated from the programmeare:
| Name | Enterprise | Description |
| Caroline Oliver | Accessible Individual Care (AIC) | Meeting the diverse and personal care needs of senior citizens from Afro Caribbean communities in deprived areas of Birmingham. |
| Daryl Chambers | InPower | Using martial arts as a tool to engage young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) to gain skills, qualifications and undertake volunteering roles to improve their employability. |
| Dionne Davis | Treble Clef Kidz | Treble Clef Kids offers a holistic music tuition service whose aim is to increase the number of children engaged in learning to play a musical instrument. Doing so is proven to improve emotional well-being, resilience and attainment. |
| Haleema Shaheen | Carers Forward | Providing one to one support and positive play experiences for children with complex special needs. They also provide tailored information, support and short breaks to the parents and carers who look after them. |
| Hannah Allsopp | Conscious Souls | A peer mentoring service for people aged 14-30 who are preparing to leave or have left Social Services care. |
| Jacqueline Hollows | Beyond Recovery CIC | A social enterprise that works within the criminal justice system working with people in addiction recovery to enable them to rehabilitate in society and reduce re-offending. |
| Jane Povey | Creative Inspiration Shropshire CIC | Growing individual and collective well-being and resilience in Shropshire through creative arts. Jane is a former GP who was frustrated by the limited support offered to people in Shropshire and the value of arts and social prescribing. |
| Jounita Wright | The REACH Project | A behaviour modification project helping children and young people to adapt their best behaviour for their present environment. Using the art of coaching and the science of psychology to facilitate primary to secondary school transition success. |
| Joylyn McDonald-Harris | Little Peoples Gym | A community based gym, located on a housing estate in Walsall that aims to introduce fitness and a healthy lifestyle at a young age to combat obesity in young children. |
| Laur Beech | Smashing Avocados | Bringing happiness through healthy living and well-being to those living in urban environments. Offering practical and manageable tools to create balance in everyday life |
| Liam Joe Blackwood | Stress Box | A combination of therapy, mindfulness and a unique workout experience to enhance people’s response to stress. |
| Matthias Nelson | Nelson Domestic Services | Tackling unemployment amongst young people by providing work experience, training and employment by offering property and ground maintenance services to landlords and letting agents. |
| Maxine Brown | YouSuccessCare CIC | Supporting children and young people, who are in the care of local authorities, overcome the unique and difficult challenges they face and reach their full potential. |
| Rebecca Blount | Recharge Telford | Supporting young people who struggle with and are recovering from substance addiction, self-harming and mental health problems. |
| Shiane Smith-Corbett | SuperNatural | Using hair, skin and beauty products and events as a vehicle to enable young women tackle social issues and increase self confidence and credibility. |
| Solomon Griffiths | 5 Steps Forward CIC | An organisation working with young people, who have become involved with gangs and criminality, to escape their negative environment. Their 5 step programme challenges their beliefs and misconceptions, builds aspirations and helps them set achievable goals to reach a more positive life-style and future. |
| Sophia Coker | Pure Strand Angels | Supporting ladies from all ethnic backgrounds who suffer the distress of hair loss. Sophia produces high quality, real hair, ethnically appropriate, wigs and provides clients with emotional support. |
| Sophie Holt | All Good Things | All Good Things provides a learning space for adults with learning disabilities to learn new skills through the production and distribution of local produce from community farms. |