ABOUT US

Our Story

We started Social Stories Club to make an enormous impact and spread joy around the world. We are a certified social enterprise gifting company with ambitious plans for social impact. We are the co-founders: Karis Gill and Aayush Goyal, two entrepreneurs with a shared passion for social impact, gifting, and storytelling.

When we discovered social enterprise we knew it was our calling and we envisioned a new future where every business is led by a social mission and an impact is made with every purchase. This inspiring yet straightforward concept enables us to change the world with every purchase. We interviewed hundreds of people and have found that only 1% of people in the UK know what social enterprise is and the incredible work they are doing.

The future is social enterprise and for social enterprises to flourish the world needs to get behind them and buy. We knew our calling in life was to introduce the world to these incredible businesses so we set about to create the most exciting gifts to give and receive: sustainable hampers filled with high-quality products each with a fascinating story of how delicious chocolates, beautifully smelling soaps, and warming teas are supporting reforestation projects, empowers individuals with disabilities and educates girls in tea growing regions. In each of our sustainable hampers, we include a story booklet so you can read about the positive social impact created.

We also want to lead by example by offering job opportunities to those furthest from the labour market who pack our sustainable gift hampers, pay the Living Wage, and offset the carbon from the delivery of the gifts. We aim to provide 100,000 hours of employment to individuals with barriers to employment in Scotland who will pack sustainable gift hampers as well as be provided with training opportunities.

Co-founders of Social Stories Club Aayush Goyal and Karis Gill

Our Mission

Social Stories Club is known for creating sustainable hampers and introducing receivers to the world of social enterprises through these exciting gifts where you can try delicious products and read their fascinating social stories in the storybook included. Social enterprises are changing the world and we are on a mission to make social enterprise a household name and make social enterprise the default business model. We achieve this by focusing on the social stories behind the products in our sustainable gift hampers. Stories have enormous power to catalyze people to act, provide hope in a new vision for the future, and transform core belief systems. By connecting the world with the stories behind social enterprises we are showing that there is a better way to do business and a new world is being created one social enterprise at a time where businesses take a lead in solving some of the world's greatest issues. Stories unite people from all backgrounds including children, and in a world, with increased anxiety about the future, we are providing opportunities for the public to take social change into their own hands but starting and supporting social enterprises like Social Stories Club. 

Our Sustainable Packaging

Reducing our impact on the environment has always been a priority for us at Social Stories Club. We are constantly researching and seeking out ways to reduce our waste and improve our carbon footprint when delivering sustainable gift boxes.

All our packaging is sustainable with either biodegradable, sustainable gift boxes or reusable, sustainable gift hampers. Printed on our gift boxes are the words "this box supports different social causes". Our gift boxes are beautifully illustrated with delicate designs of people carrying out the UN's sustainable development goals, which is a great way to educate people on social causes. Our sustainable gift boxes are then sent out in biodegradable mailer bags which are also more friendly for individuals with disabilities to open. Our sustainable hampers are made from paper rope and can be reused as storage or even filled and given as new gifts. The wood wool which fills our gifts and keeps all our social enterprise products secure is sourced from sustainable timber forests. We encourage all of our recipients to get creative and find an interesting afterlife for their sustainable gift boxes and hampers.

Our Partners

We are currently partnered with over 30 social enterprises from around the UK and our sustainable hampers feature a wide range of products from food, drink, beauty, and lifestyle. We carefully selected our partners to make sure we share the same sustainable values and to create the most sustainable hampers with the most inspiring stories. Inside our story booklet you can read a range of stories about how bath salts are providing jobs for individuals with disabilities, chutneys are fighting food waste, and how teas and nuts are educating girls and building schools. Each product has a powerful story and one we love to share, so included in all our sustainable gift boxes and hampers is a story booklet that documents these stories, and our journey as a social enterprise. Find out about all the amazing work being done for the environment and communities around the world.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Our sustainable hampers support 12 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and it’s our goal to support all 17 by the end of 2024. For us, it is so important that our gifts are creating as much impact as possible. These goals act as our guide and illustrate all the areas that we need to work on in order to make the world a better place and make the most impact. With each social venture partner we bring on board, we are looking to see what goals they support and how they do this so our sustainable hampers can create an impact across the world in all different areas. 

United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals poster.

Working With Corporates

Social Stories Club has served over 100 corporates in supplying sustainable corporate hampers. Corporates are changing the world by incorporating social enterprises into their supply chain. Instead of purchasing a generic gift, corporates are instead opting for a sustainable corporate gift box because they want to demonstrate to their stakeholders that they have a shared value for social impact.

Corporates are looking to cultivate a culture of sustainability in their workplace and are using sustainable employee gift boxes as a way to start and continue conversations about sustainability. With many teams working from home or with a hybrid model, teams can become disconnected and feel underappreciated. An employee appreciation gift is a great way to say thank you for all the teams’ hard work. A sustainable corporate gift box has the added benefit of creating an impact. Teams around the world have excitedly shared their Social Stories Club sustainable corporate hampers they have received from their managers onto LinkedIn and other social media platforms as they want to show their network that they work for a team that cares about them and social impact.

Conversations around sustainability start with the social stories as teams read the story booklet together on how their employee gift box is transforming communities. A report by PwC found that 65% of workers living in China, Germany, India, the UK, and the USA actively want to be a part of a team that values sustainability. Despite workers caring so much about sustainability, only 36% of HR professionals are building their hiring strategies around their companies’ social and environmental values. We have found an increase in sustainable corporate hampers being sent to welcome new starts to the team, which is a sign that sustainable values attract and retain talent.

We are also very excited to announce that, as of now, all of our deliveries are carbon neutral. This means that whenever we send out one of our sustainable corporate gift boxes, the carbon emissions released during its delivery process are offset.

Certified Social Enterprise logo
Living Wage Employer accreditation logo.
The Big Issue logo.

Meet the Team

We hire kind people who are passionate about social impact and care about delivering you the very best experience. If you have received a gift hamper or sustainable employee gift box you have our amazing team to thank. At Social Stories Club we champion diversity and make sure we eradicate all bias’ in our hiring process. Introducing the incredible team who make it all happen:

Portrait image of Karis Gill the Co-founder of Social Stories Club

Karis Gill - Co-founder. The one with the vision who gets excited about ambitious plans and everything social enterprise

Portrait image of Aayush Goyal the Co-founder Social Stories Club

Aayush Goyal - Co-founder. Loves a spreadsheet and seeing a plan come to life!

Portrait image of Adam Kerr, Operations Team Member for Social Stories Club

Adam Kerr - Operations Team Member. Leads everything to do with shipping to make sure the gifts make it to you

Portrait image of Oksana Zencika, Operations Executive for Social Stories Club

Oksana Zencika - Operations Executive. Who makes sure every box is lovingly packed to perfection

Aisha Aslam - Marketing Team Member. Takes care of all the socials and has two cats