Social Enterprise September Starts Here!
At Five Rivers we celebrate Social Enterprise September – a chance to recognise the organisation’s commitment into re-investing its profits back into important, child-centred services.
What is a Social Enterprise?
A social enterprise is a business that operates with the primary goal of creating positive social, environmental, or community impact. Social enterprises are distinct in that they reinvest a significant portion of their profits back into their mission.
What does it mean for Five Rivers to be a Social Enterprise, and how does this benefit children in care?
As a social enterprise, we are a dynamic, ethical organisation committed to giving back.
We invest in people, projects, research, and training and always go the extra mile to make a difference to the children we work with and the communities they live and grow up in.
Being a social enterprise means we can ‘think big’ and make meaningful contributions to the people, businesses, and broader network of children’s services around us.
Our re-investments provide the long-term resources needed to help children who have experienced trauma rather than quick ‘band-aid’ solutions.
What are the top social enterprise re-investments Five Rivers has achieved this last year?
Five Rivers Assessment & Therapy Research and Development team has seen two research papers published this year, with a third in review. Referrals and Research Co-ordinator, Katharine Anderson, will be presenting these at the Research in Practice Conference 2023 this month.
Our national Participation programme and dedicated team of 19 Participation Champions delivered a programme of activities for our young people to explore issues that matter most, bringing about positive change in how we (and others) care for them.
Fans of Fostering, a campaign to build a network of supporters to help shape a positive narrative about children in care, has gone from strength to strength with over 600 subscribers to our quarterly email newsletter. Providing a space where we share positive news and updates whilst highlighting opportunities for people to support children in care.
We continue to grow and develop our Five Rivers Futures programme, providing emotional and financial support to care leavers. This year we have provided 9 financial grants, gifted new home hampers and made several befriending arrangements.
All our coworkers and suppliers are encouraged to sign our Social Compact, an agreement that promotes and offers meaningful work placements for care-experienced people. Additionally, we encourage everyone to support their local communities and the environment by shopping whenever feasible at small, independently owned stores.
This September we will be sharing stories from across the organisation to celebrate the achievements made possible through social enterprise funding!