Things are stirring in Downpatrick’s new social enterprise hub with all the ingredients to help innovators cook up some business.
‘The Hub’ is launching Downpatrick Soup, a powerful tool to start conversations, practice democracy and fund new projects, people and ideas. Designed to be a social event bringing people together who are interested in the common good, it gives five local social enterprises a chance to present their work and secure some vital funding. Each enterprise has four minutes to present its work, followed by questions, discussion and debate for a chance to win all the money raised on the evening.
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Jimmy, Zoe, Philip Downpatrick Soup Organisers, want to hear about your social enterprise ideas fro Downpatrick Soup.[/caption]
The winner is voted for by the attendees. Attendees are asked to contribute £5 (or whatever you can afford) and in return get soup, salad, bread plus a chance to vote for their favourite project and a bit of entertainment. Naomi Baillie, Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down Council praised Downpatrick Soup as “a great way to raise money, build community support and get connections to local resources to carry out common good projects. It is an innovative way to celebrate ‘Social Saturday’.”
Downpatrick Soup will take place on Friday 9 October 2015 from 7-10pm at the Social Enterprise Hub, Grove Shopping Centre, Market Street, Downpatrick.
Stephen McClelland, Downpatrick Hub Manager, said: “The South Eastern Social Enterprise Hub, which comprises Downpatrick and Lisburn premises, is one of eleven Hubs established across the nine Social Investment Zones under the Northern Ireland Executive’s Delivering Social Change Framework.
“With £4million of funding from the Executive’s Delivering Social Change Fund, the Social Enterprise Hub Signature Programme tackles poverty, dereliction and unemployment by encouraging social enterprise business start-up within local communities.
“The Hub is an incubator for people with ideas and solutions that tackle local needs that aren’t currently being addressed. Part social enterprise space, part community centre, the Hub provides a collaborative working space and a platform to launch new social enterprise businesses, create employment, create volunteering opportunities and practical based work experience, generating income to reinvest into meeting local needs.
“Since the Hub launched over a year ago it has supported more than 60 groups and social entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and plans for future growth.
“It offers a meeting room, workshop, hot-desk facilities, therapy space, performance space and test-trading space free to individuals and groups exploring social enterprise.”
For more information contact Stephen McClelland, Hub Manager Tel: 07971914763 Email: smcclelland@nmea.net
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Delivering Social Change is the Executive’s framework, set up to tackle poverty and social exclusion. It aims to deliver a sustained reduction in poverty and associated issues across all ages and to improve children and young people’s health, well-being and life opportunities thereby breaking the long term cycle of multigenerational problems. For more information go to:
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