Celebrate the City's Social Side on Saturday 13 October
Now entering its fifth year, Social Saturday is a country-wide initiative dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness of UK social enterprises - businesses which trade to meet a social or environmental purpose.
Brighton & Hove has a growing number of social enterprises and is a city known for its empathetic and ethical ethos.
Since it was launched in 2014 Social Saturday has reached millions of people through local events, national and regional media coverage and through online platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of social enterprises and show the difference they can make to communities across the country.
The social enterprise movement has gathered traction in recent years, helping to tackle a range of challenges including homelessness, the housing crisis and climate change. The social enterprise model seeks to, create inclusive growth by re-generating communities, create jobs and opportunities for those who need them most and lead the way in workplace diversity. Social enterprises reinvest the money they make back into their business or the local community so when a social enterprise profits, society benefits.
Brighton & Hove City Council views supporting local businesses and the wider economy to deliver enhanced local economic and social value as having an important role to play in delivering a fairer city.
Cllr Nancy Platts, Lead Member for Economic Development and Social Value, says:” Social Saturday is a nationally recognised initiative to celebrate businesses in our city like HISBE, the Big Lemon, Fair, the Wood Store the Community Kitchen and Team Dominica who have social values at their heart.
“I recently had the pleasure of visiting a number of these businesses to see first-hand how they do things. They’re a great example of a disruptive business model – one that challenges the traditional focus on profit by instead focusing on their contribution to the community. From recycling wood to selling fair trade clothes and seasonal vegetables, our social enterprises offer a more sustainable lifestyle choice.
“It was inspiring to meet business owners who are also improving the life chances of people with learning difficulties through training and employment.
"This powerful combination of ethical business and employment practices will ensure we retain the unique edge that attracts so many people to our wonderful city. This is social value in action.”
Social Saturday 2018 is on 13 October.