Having just won Best Social Enterprise Team in the Newry Chamber Awards, plus confirmation that we are also nominated for three awards in this year’s Social Enterprise N.I. (SENI) awards, we thought it might be a good time to explain why and how we have embraced Social Enterprise to keep us stable, even when the charitable sector has been anything but!
In recent years, our hybrid Charity x Social Enterprise model has become increasingly important to us. We all know about the ongoing funding challenges through the charitable, community and social care sector – and charities like us have had to be entrepreneurial when it comes to survival.
A social heart, with a business head
Bolster Community is a values-driven charity (and social enterprise) dedicated to improving access to services and promoting well-being for individuals, families, and communities. Founded in 2004 by CEO Jacinta Linden, we have grown from a grassroots community organisation, to become an integral solution provider across the Southern Trust region.
Our people-first approach is evident in our commitment to going above and beyond – in 2024 alone, we supported over 9,000 individuals across our core service areas of Family/Individuals, Seniors and Adults of mixed ability – helping to strengthen connections, empower individuals, and improve overall health and wellbeing.
The British Council defines ‘social enterprises’ as, “…businesses whose primary purpose is addressing a social or environmental challenge rather than creating profit for owners or shareholders… They deliver positive social impact through their means (i.e. how they conduct their work) and ends (i.e. what they achieve).”
At Bolster we have three social enterprise streams which all generate income that support ‘Bolster Community’ (as our parent charity) and include:
- Those wholesalers/corporates, and in-person/online customers who buy our award-winning Acorn candles, soaps and diffusers made by adults with mixed ability.
- The statutory sector agencies such as Health trusts, PHA and Schools who commission services and purchase our award-winning Friends resilience products endorsed by the World Health agency to reduce anxiety in children.
- Social enterprise opportunities where Bolster Buddy Sessions (adults with learning disability) underpin the Acorn retail and manufacturing process.
Double the support, Social Enterprise x Bolster Community
In recent weeks our Acorn candles social enterprise has been given a lot of love and exposure, following the launch of our latest ‘Scents of Home’ range – because its success really is imperative for our overall sustainability as an organisation and what we are able to offer. As our CEO & Founder Jacinta Linden explains,
“As a local charity we know that doing good for others requires a business head and a social heart, and our Acorn social enterprise brings absolute joy to all of us at Bolster Community as well as supporting adults of mixed ability to acquire new skills and avail of so many exciting life opportunities…With every Acorn candle purchase/order, you are supporting not only our young people of mixed ability, but also putting your pound to work to support people that are facing huge challenges.”
Given the investment and what the candles enable us to do in terms of offering development and opportunity to young people of mixed ability, we appreciate every single purchase, especially from those wholesalers who stock our range in house and make repeat Acorn orders through the year.
We also very much appreciate the corporate customers who choose Acorn to fulfil client, staff or event gifts – for example last year we were able to supply a bespoke candle to Women’s Aid for their 40-year anniversary event, we also regularly supply candles to Kehoe Kars of Newry, who give an Acorn candle with every car purchase. It’s the larger orders like these, that can really help us grow our Acorn social enterprise – and there is room for much more!
So if you are interested in purchasing our products or stocking them in a retail outlet, don’t be shy we will be delighted to have a chat with you.
Support our programmes
There are other ways you can support our charity and social enterprise. Our evidence-based FRIENDS resilience programmes (that are WHO endorsed), can make a huge difference to children experiencing a range of emotional and behavioural challenges. These programmes are typically funded by statutory sector agencies, however they can also be purchased by businesses who want to give back to the community – for example in the last year we have been supported by Connect Transform Sustain (CTS) and Health Matters to deliver a Go Girls programme and Fun Friends programme respectively.
As a business, you may have a social value remit to fulfil as part of a public sector contract, but you can also engage and fund a programme if as a business you want to look at ways of enhancing your corporate social responsibility.
We all know the charitable and statutory sector are under immense challenges to deliver on services which are so desperately in demand, and the business community can step in and help alleviate those pressures – helping us fund and run programmes more frequently is just one way they can do that. The positive impact on children, their families and school years trajectory cannot be underestimated, especially when delivered on a larger scale (i.e. year groups).
Reach out – we’d love to hear from you! -
- For Acorn specific enquiries please contact us at acorn@bolstercommunity.org.
- You can also shop our new range online at: www.acornshop.co.uk
- To discuss ways your organisation might support us (either with programme sponsorship or other), reach out to us at comms@bolstercommunity.org