Good News! Five Positive Stories From 2021 from a Sustainable Corporate Christmas Gifting Supplier

hands placed together to make a love heart shape

As 2021 draws to a close, we cannot help but feel a little reflective about this less-than-ordinary year. The last 12 months have brought with it many challenges however, we wanted to take this opportunity to share some inspiring stories that came from the social enterprise industry in 2021, ending the year on a positive note. We have been busy sending out sustainable corporate Christmas gifts over the last month but want to take a moment to celebrate all social enterprises. So let's take a moment to celebrate a few moments of great achievement, collaboration, and positive change. Wishing you a restful festive season and happy holidays from the entire team at Social Stories Club!

Fighting food waste with Rubies in the Rubble

rubies in the rubble team helping their farmers

Rubies In The Rubble Team

After hearing one of their farmers Pete was having to leave fruit on the trees this year due to staff shortages, Rubies In the Rubble sprang into action! They called upon their network of food-waste-fighting friends at Oddbox, the Gleaning Network, and The Felix Project to get picking. A team of volunteers helped Pete collect the apples from his farm, saving 7 tonnes of apples from going to waste! You may have seen that you can select a jar of Rubies in the Rubble relish in our build your own gift collection. 

Toast Ale unites 25 breweries to fight climate change

toast ale companion series

Toast Ale's Companion Series

Ahead of the COP26 conference, Toast Ale launched their Companion Series– a limited edition collection of beers that uses surplus bread to prevent food waste and reduce demand for natural resources. The project brought together 25 competing breweries with the aim to raise £65,000 for conservation and regenerative agriculture organisations. These funds will be used to protect 3.25 million trees in threatened tropical rainforests and sequester 360 tCO2 in agricultural soils. You can find Toast Ale inside our corporate Christmas gifts in our online shop. 

Social Stories Club wins at Scottish Edge

social stories club winning their award at Scottish EDGE

Social Stories Club At The Scottish Edge Awards

Earlier this month, we were also are absolutely thrilled to announce that Social Stories Club had been awarded the Scottish EDGE Social Enterprise Award and £65k in funding. Scottish Edge is the UK’s biggest business funding competition and they receive hundreds of applications every year. After applying for over three years and being unsuccessful we were over the moon to find out we had gotten through to the finals of the Social Enterprise Edge category. It took a long time to get to this stage including a three minute pitch video and a long application form where we were judged on our value proposition, entrepreneurial spirit, business growth potential, customer focus, utilisation of funding, and impact. We are so proud of our team and what we have achieved over the last three years and cannot wait to see what’s next in our future. To give a sustainable Christmas gift this year head over to our online shop and check out our best sellers. 

Hey Girls to deliver period products and education project through new £1 million Big Sister project

hey girls promotional image

Hey Girls Celebrating At A Photoshoot

Hey Girls has been selected to deliver period health education and period products to young people across the UK in a new £1m ‘Big Sister’ project. This collaborative project will be delivered by Hey Girls, Places Leisure, Places Foundation and Women in Sport and aims to break down barriers that teenage girls face to leading healthy, happy and active lives.

The programme will work with girls in target areas aged 9-15 and help them to feel ‘sport ready’ by recruiting a network of “big sisters” made up of peer leaders and supporters from sport, school and community organisations. Girls in the programme will be offered free girl-focused exercise sessions and gym memberships as well as free period products and digital resource packs from Hey Girls to help them feel confident enough to take part in sport.

Positive Changes with Grace Chocolates

production scenes from grace chocolates

Rows Of Chocolate Laid Out At Grace Chocolate

Earlier this month, Joyce Murray founder of Grace Chocolates was interviewed on Good Morning Scotland to discuss the fantastic work their social enterprise is doing through their Positive Changes programme. Grace Chocolates sell high-quality chocolates around the UK and their Positive Changes programme supports women who have touched the Scottish criminal justice system towards sustainable employment by making and selling exquisite chocolates.

This year they have helped 37 women, 10 of who are now in employment, further education or running their own businesses and 27 have obtained industry-recognised qualifications and are moving closer towards employment. Graces Chocolates are a great addition to a sustainable Christmas gift or a gift bought for other special occasions. 

We hope you enjoyed this blog post celebrating some positive news and inspiring social stories from 2021! If you would like to know more about us and get more from behind the scenes at Social Stories Club, sign up to our newsletter – you’ll also get 10% off your next order!

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