CROYDON TO HOST SOCIAL SATURDAY
Croydon will be leading a nationwide day of events and activities to promote and celebrate social enterprise, which are businesses that trade to tackle social or environmental issues for the benefit of the community.
“Social Saturday”, a networking event with guest speakers, takes place at RISE Gallery in St George’s Walk from 11am to 12.30pm on 10 October and is aimed at social entrepreneurs.
The event is being organised in partnership with the council, national campaign body Social Enterprise UK (SE UK) and RISE.
Croydon was officially awarded social enterprise status by SE UK in May – the first in London – in recognition of the number of businesses in the borough.
There are currently 14 towns and cities across the country with social enterprise place status.
RISE founder Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison says he wants to harness the positive social potential of art to benefit his home town of Croydon.
Kevin said: “The gallery itself is a commercial operation, but one of RISE’s big recurring themes is ‘inclusion’. “We believe in the life-enhancing value of art and that art itself can act as a catalyst for positive change.
“This can be for an individual, a group of people or a community as art transcends all ages, ethnicities and cultures.”
Croydon council leader Cllr Tony Newman, who is one of the guest speakers on Social Saturday, said: “Social enterprises are redefining how business gets done.
“When you buy from a social enterprise, society profits. “What’s more they are outperforming regular businesses on growth and impact.
“Social Saturday is all about celebrating the number of businesses in Croydon that reinvest their profits in making a difference by tackling social issues such as improving communities and the environment.”
To attend please book your free ticket at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-saturday-networking-the-rise-of-social-enterprise-tickets-18733539521
There are around 70,000 social enterprises in the UK which employ two million people and contribute £20 billion to the UK economy.
Social Saturday is part of Social Enterprise UK’s Buy Social Campaign which urges consumers, the public and private sectors to use their purchasing power to create positive social and environmental impact. (Source: Croydon council press release)
