NEWS FROM THE TREES GROUP
25 NOVEMBER 2009
NEW PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS FUTURE OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Social enterprises throughout the UK are to be given every opportunity to achieve their potential following the launch of an innovative support service.
Responsible Futures, a new partnership of five large social enterprises in the East Midlands including Leicester-based TREES, will provide affordable advice and assistance to not-for profit organisations at any stage in their development.
John Montague, Group Chief Executive of TREES (Training, Regeneration, Education, Employment, Sustainability Services Limited), which drives employment and training creation in deprived communities, said the service was a ground-breaking move for the social enterprise movement.
John said: "Many agencies offer start-up advice for social enterprises, but few also provide the support they need to face the ongoing challenges in running a successful business. Responsible Futures brings together a wealth of expert advice from the most successful organisations in the sector to help other social enterprises remain sustainable and meet their environmental needs."
He added: "Responsible Futures will organise training and share best practice knowledge with public and private organisations, produce case studies for the public sector, and deliver direct support to new and existing social enterprises."
"The partnership will provide innovative and responsible solutions to business needs ranging from human resources and finance to health and safety and training, as well as provide practical advice to achieve environmental goals."
The founding partners of Responsible Futures are John Montague from TREES; Nigel Lowthrop from Hill Holt Wood; Richard Ellis from SEEM (Social Enterprise East Midlands); Stan Crawford from Sherwood Energy Village; and David Brazier from STRIDE, the trading arm of Leicester based charity SHARP.
Between them they employ more than 200 people and support more than 1,000 individuals into training and employment.
Through its successful self-sustaining social enterprises Newlife Regeneration Construction, which includes the landscaping division Ground Control, and the conference venue Highpoint, TREES has been helping to build better communities and bring excluded groups into the labour market.
Hill Holt Wood, an ancient woodland and environmental social enterprise, has become a model of sustainability, generating an income by providing an alternative education for young people excluded from school, training, eco-construction, countryside services and woodland management.
As the voice of social enterprise in the East Midlands, SEEM brings together key stakeholders in the sector to create an environment where social enterprise is encouraged and enabled to grow.
Sherwood Energy Village has regenerated a 91-acre former colliery site in North Nottinghamshire, turning it into a commercial mixed-use site that has been internationally recognised as an exemplar of sustainable development.
STRIDE, which operates in Leicester and Nottingham, assembles, recycles, sells and delivers furniture and in so doing creates work and training opportunities for disadvantaged people.
Responsible Futures can be contacted through Jenny Dolman-Thomas at TREES on 0116 299 4466 or 07969 177257 or by email at j.dolman@thetreesgroup.co.uk
www.thetreesgroup.org.uk
