It my have escaped your notice that KiddyCharts is a social enterprise; we give at least 80% of our profit to the charity Reverence for Life (2020), and last year gave the same to Young Minds. Believe it or not, there are an awful lot of them here in the UK. You would be surprised how many business owners set up their concerns with a view to generating revenue, but also giving back to the community as a whole. KiddyCharts was originally set up as a business, but over time it has evolved into a social enterprise. We thought it would be lovely to share with you some of the other businesses that are doing the same, so that should you need any other services, you will think of them. If there is one thing that we have learnt in these difficult times, it is supporting local businesses is worth so much to so many – so why not support a business AND a charity at the same time? Here we share some social enterprises to buy from.
Buy from a family social enterprise if you can, you won’t regret it.
1. KiddyCharts
Obviously, I’ve put our social enterprise first on the list! We offer free services to parents and schools; focused around learning and fun. We do have a small number of products, including a mindful colouring books for kids and adults. Do check out our Gumroad Shop for more information. Our nominated charity for donations is Reverence for Life; a wonderful charity that supports communities in Africa with a view to helping people and planet work to support each other. An environmental principle that we are really passionate about both professional and personally.
Why not check out some of the free eBooks for kids we have? You can even explore all the other free printables too.
2. Smug face masks
Smug, though not JUST for kids, they also have adult face masks too; we wanted to include them because they have a VERY COOL idea. They are producing fun and funky face masks for kids, and adults. For every face mask that they produce, they also donate face masks to the food banks that The Trussel Trust run. They are aiming to donate 12,000 across the UK.
The masks are made from 100% organic cotton, and also printed in the UK as well.
3. Butterfly Books
Butterfly Books is a charming company with a set of books aiming to encourage diversity from a young age (3-7). Titles include those focusing on roles that perhaps haven’t traditionally been seen as for women, to help children to understand that we can all be whatever we want to be if we put our minds to it.
The books are designed on helping to deliver the “Understanding Our World part of EYFS in the UK, as well as PSHE for KS1. However, they cover many of the curriculum areas for schools worldwide.
4. Serious Tissues
Now – we all know that tissues aren’t just for families BUT if you ARE in a family, and have kids, you KNOW that you will be getting through a shed load *ahem* of toilet paper, tissues, and goodness knows what else in your household. So why not buy serious tissues, which are 100% recycled AND during the Coronovirus crisis the company are donating 100% of their profits to the NHS. You can’t say fairer than that now, can you?
5. From Babies with Love
From Babies with Love is a beautiful company. Every penny of their profit goes to help abandoned and orphaned children from across the globe. The company offers gorgeous clothes and gifts for babies. Buying for your, or someone else’s baby, means that you are helping to save another little one somewhere across the world. The company’s purpose is to try and break the cycle of poverty that children suffer worldwide.
6. Play Wooden
We all LOVE a wooden toy – at least WE do here on KiddyCharts, and this is exactly what Play Wooden is all about. The company offers wooden games, sourced and made around the world, and made from recycled wood. All the games are designed to encourage and nurture curiosity and explorative play. Some of the games are played on your own, while others competitively, or sometimes even co-operatively. Why not check the company’s shop out?
7. Motherdom
Motherdom is a magazine dedicated to parents of the under 5s, and generating support for mum’s mental health and wellbeing. It is the only mainstream media publication that is designed to do so, and was set up by BBC Journalist, Anna Ceesay after she experienced mental Health issues herself throughout her pregnancy and following the birth of her own children; who are now 6 and 2.
8. bMoneywize
bMoneywize is based in London and was set up to teach young people, including primary school children, about budgeting and money. They offer workshops, and toolkits to help kids to understand the importance of numeracy and managing their money themselves. The emphasis within the company is to make money and maths fun, so that children aren’t turned off by the idea of learning, and managing their finances.
9. Brightkidz
Brightkidz promotes kids to travel everyday through a number of different ways; encouraging walking to school, cycling, scooting, road safety and using public transport. They focus on: selling products to help promote road safety and travel, providing information and supporting relevant projects. Some of their lockdown walking ideas are well worth checking out. All profits are ploughed back into the business to support their aims for encouraging active kids.
10. Bluepatch
Bluepatch is an organisation based in the UK, promoting products and services from businesses located in the country. They have a range of products for families, babies, and children; from clothes, to toys, and even family photography.
We hope you like some of these companies, and they give you ideas for gifts, toys for the kids and your family. If you are looking for all the social enterprises to buy from in the UK – do pop over to this social enterprise UK directory for a list of companies that support global and local communities through their businesses.
Don’t forget to check out KiddyCharts activities and free printables while you are exploring the site – here are some of the most popular ones on the site for you:
Example freebies - why not check them out?
We are all about the FREE STUFF - so why not check out some of these fun activities for the kids now?
Cat mindful coloring pages for adults and kids
Our most popular free colouring - adult and kids colouring pages to do together.
Love adult and kids coloring pages #52KindWeeks
Another adult and kids colouring freebie for Valentines fun!
Free ebooks for Children
All the eBooks we have on the site for free - and there are a lot of them!
Space activity eBook
Space fun for the kids.
LEGO activities eBook
Love LEGO - then you will love these activities too!
Don’t forget to subscribe to us too for more fabulous stuff.
See you soon – and don’t forget Support Social where you can!
Helen
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!