The Big Issue shines a light on Social Enterprise Academy’s young people

This week’s Big Issue magazine shines a spotlight on inspiring social enterprises run by school pupils across the UK and around the globe, in our Social Enterprise Academy ‘World of Opportunity’ supplement.

The 16-page magazine, which can be found inside the regular edition of The Big Issue on sale from vendors now, showcases innovative and energetic social businesses making a real impact in their communities and tackling real-world problems, with issues including hunger and poverty and social isolation, communities impacted by climate change and reducing waste to protect the environment.

Neil McLean, chief executive of Social Enterprise Academy, said: “We believe that we all have the ability to make a change to the things that impact our community, with the right support. 

“I am delighted to share this year’s inspirational examples from just a few of the young change makers doing just that through Social Enterprise Schools. We appreciate the continued support from all of our partners, without which the work we do would not be possible.”

Some of the social enterprises we feature include:

• Pet supplies business providing affordable treats, food and toys for cat and dog owners;
• A music project with a Gaelic-language band at its heart, staging live events and releasing records;
• A group making soaps to raise funds for a homelessness charity and creating hygiene care kits for the people the charity works with;
• A social enterprise magazine which raises issues pupils feel strongly about, with funds from sales enabling them to kit-out a calm space in the school as a refuge for their peers who needs a break in the day for their own wellbeing;
• A team who are tackling teen addiction to vaping, by sourcing non-harmful versions of vapes to help break the habit;
• And a garden project where fresh fruit and veg are grown as an affordable source for pupils and their local community, and sold to local businesses to help raise more funds to further grow their business.

We also look at international schools projects which include an Australian team creating sunscreen for surfers that raises money to support communities affected by devastating cyclones in nearby Vanuatu; in Egypt young people running a tree-planting project and a designer recycling plastic to create stylish jewellery; and in Malaysia capturing waste cooking oil to save it clogging the drainage systems, and recycling it as a raw material to make soaps and candles.

The special magazine also takes a deep dive into the history and remarkable growth trajectory of Social Enterprise Academy; examines how it’s supporting financial inclusion – and why this is an increasingly urgent issue among young people in the UK; and meets two alumni of SEA Schools projects who are now driving their own social enterprise ambitions and spreading the positive impacts of businesses run for community benefit.

Russell Blackman, MD of Big Issue Group, said: “This is the sixth year that Big Issue has worked with Social Enterprise Academy to create our special edition of the magazine. And we are continually impressed by the outstanding commitment of these young people to learning how the power of successful social business can create opportunity and deliver widespread benefits to their communities.

“As you can see from the social enterprises featured in this week’s magazine, it’s not just about raising money to do good things for their community – young people also gain so much from being part of the Social Enterprise Academy movement, life-skills that have the power to transform lives. Changing Lives Through Enterprise is Big Issue Group’s key motivation, and we are delighted to be able to support and highlight how new generations of social entrepreneurs are driving this forward with such energy, creativity, pragmatism and optimism.”

Over the coming few weeks pupils will be staging Big Sell-Off events in their schools, where they will be selling a special limited edition version of this week’s Big Issue Social Enterprise Academy special issue with a unique cover, exclusively available from pupils in the SEA network. Funds from the sell-offs will help to boost the coffers of their social enterprises and raise awareness in their local communities of the work that they do.

Find out more about Social Enterprise Academy here and read or download a free pdf copy of our ‘World of Opportunity’ supplement here or by tapping the image below.