I discovered a new term a few week’s ago – social enterprises. Prince Charles, who I have rather a soft spot for, is patron of the charity Business in the Community. This promotes responsible business, and social enterprises are one of the models that it is supporting. These organisations give over 50% of their profits to charity, and its a totally new concept to me, and something that I am keen on finding out more about….
With this in mind, I have a guest on the blog today who runs her own social enterprise, and was also lucky enough to meet Prince Charles recently….over to Cecilia…..
When I became a parent, watching charity adverts and reading articles about the hardship children face all over the world made me more determined than ever to do something. The emotions of becoming a parent fuelled my belief that every baby should have a fair start in life, no matter where they’re born.
I was out shopping for my firstborn’s clothes when I thought to myself: if I could buy beautiful baby clothes and know the profit helps children in need, why would I buy anywhere else? The answer is I wouldn’t! So I set up from babies with love, selling beautiful organic baby clothes – but instead of profits going to shareholders, 100% of our profit goes to orphaned and abandoned children.
One of the babies we support is little Mariama, who was a newborn baby when her mother sadly passed away and whose family was not in a position to look after her. She was born in The Gambia – one of the poorest countries in the world. But her life changed when she was taken in by an SOS Children’s Village. Like all SOS children, within her village Mariama has a new, permanent home, where she will grow up safely, loved by her SOS mother, brothers and sisters, and will go to school.
from babies with love has set a precedent in the baby clothes market, it stands out from the crowd as an accredited Social Enterprise – a business that, akin to charities, exists to make a positive difference. But unlike our cousins in the charity sector, social enterprises earn income by selling goods and services, competing in the open market with normal companies.
After just one year, we’re already donating our profits to support ten babies, across Africa, Latin America and South Asia. Our profit supports them to live, be loved and cared for, in dedicated children’s villages run by our partner charity SOS Children. We also use our profit to help build and run nursery schools in the villages; we’re currently supporting the nurseries in Chipata, Zambia (where 1 in every 6 children is orphaned or abandoned) and in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The from babies with love offering is unique – you buy beautiful baby clothes and enjoy knowing you’re helping babies in need. It’s a win-win and a huge smile for everyone!
What d you think to this concept in business? I love it, and I can’t see why anyone else wouldn’t, particularly those ten babies that this company is helping. I would love to hear your views, so do let us know your thoughts below.
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!