Impact Report
Your orders have helped us...
Invest over £330,000 in the social enterprise economy
Introduce over 21,000 people to social enterprise
Provide 3,329 hours of employment to individuals with barriers to employment
Our Mission
We are a certified social enterprise creating gifts with an incredible impact. Each product inside our gift boxes has a story of transforming communities. Social Stories Club are creating a future where you can make a positive social impact with every purchase you make. We curate sustainable hampers and introduce 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.
Each product inside our sustainable gift boxes contributes to positive social or environmental change. From delicious chocolate that supports global reforestation projects to Earl Grey tea helping to educate girls in India, each of the products inside our sustainable gift boxes has been made by a social enterprise or social venture business.
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 catalyse 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. In a world with increased anxiety about the future, we are providing an opportunities for the public to take social change into their own hands but starting and supporting social enterprises like Social Stories Club.
Impact In Numbers
We started Social Stories Club to make an enormous impact and spread joy around the world. Since we started, we have introduced over 1 million people to social enterprises. We have invested £330,000 in the social economy, have provided over 3,500 hours of employment to individuals with barriers to employment who pack our sustainable gift boxes, and we have offset 42,000kg of CO2.
Our Team
We hire kind people who are passionate about creating a social impact. We also provide employment opportunities to individuals with barriers to employment who pack our sustainable gift boxes. We are proud to work with such a diverse team. It is important to us that everyone feels valued and cared for when they come to work for Social Stories Club. We believe in diversity and inclusion. Last year, we were thrilled to receive our Living Wage Employer accreditation and we hope that this shows our growing team how much we value their hard work.
Our Sustainable Gifts
Carbon Offsetting
In 2021, we announced that all of our deliveries are now carbon neutral! This means that whenever we send out one of our sustainable gift boxes, the carbon emissions released during its transport will be offset.
So far, your orders have helped us protect an area of forest the size of 17,601.50 km2 in addition to offsetting 42,000 kg of CO2 and planting 1,100 trees.
Sustainable Packaging
All our packaging is sustainable and designed to minimize the environmental impact. Our biodegradable sustainable gift boxes are recyclable and also educate about social impact. Printed on the side is "this box supports different social causes". Our sustainable gift boxes are beautifully illustrated with designs of figures carrying out the UN's sustainable development goals, which is a great way to educate children on social causes. We also designed a fun quiz for children. See if your child can find the following on the packaging:
- Quality Education
- Great Healthcare
- Empowered Artists
- Renewable energies
- Happy farming communities
- Sports for individuals with disabilities
- Activities for the elderly
- Biking to work
The wood wool which fills our gifts is sourced from sustainable timber forests. All sustainable gift boxes are dispatched in a biodegradable mailer bag, which is easier for individuals with disabilities to remove.
Our sustainable gift hampers are made from paper rope and can be reused as storage or repacked and given as another gift. We encourage all of our recipients to get creative and find an interesting afterlife for their sustainable gift boxes and hampers.
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
From the start, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) have acted as our guide and illustrated all the areas that we need to work on to make the world a better place and make the most impact.
With each partner, we take on we are looking to see which of the SDGs they support and how they do this. The SDGs also help us keep variety amongst our social partners and ensures we are supporting as many goals as possible, and where we might be lacking we can then actively seek out brands that support that specific goal.
We currently support 12 of the goals with our sustainable gift hampers to support all 17. Read more about our work towards this.
Social Enterprises We Work With
We work with organisations creating a social impact and currently work with over 30 social enterprises and social businesses from around the UK whose products go inside our sustainable gift hampers. We are constantly growing our product range and aim to bring the highest quality products in all of our gifts.
The social stories behind the products in our sustainable gift boxes are very important. Stories are a powerful way to catalyse people to act and create a new vision for a future world and demonstrate that there is an alternative way to do business that creates a social impact. We, therefore, not only like a variety of products but also a variety of social stories. We also look for diversity in our list of suppliers with 59% being women-led businesses and 23% being family-led businesses.
Full list of brands we work with
Case Study - Arthouse Unlimited
We are so happy that Arthouse Unlimited’s beautifully smelling soaps are included inside our sustainable gift boxes as these soaps are transforming the lives of individuals with disabilities across the UK.
Arthouse Unlimited is a collective of artists living with complex epilepsy and learning disabilities and difficulties, all of whom require varying levels of support. The artists work alongside instructors to create artworks that are developed into designer products for sale. All the artwork is derived from the skills each artist brings to the enterprise and every contribution holds real value. Offering a sense of purpose lies at the heart of Arthouse Unlimited's philosophy in line with their belief that feeling truly respected improves health and well-being. They strive to challenge perceptions and to create better acceptance and inclusion for all people living with disabilities.
As they grow, they hope to offer more opportunities to people across the UK. 100% of sales revenue sustains the enterprise, enabling them to expand and evolve. To support Arthouse unlimited gift one of our sustainable gift boxes with their beautiful soaps in and the receiver will be able to enjoy the soap and read about their story in the story booklet included.
We Are Helping Social Ventures to Reach New Markets
“The Social Stories Club is a great concept which introduces a customer to a variety of high-quality social enterprise products without having to look for them all over the place. We are quite pleased to have our tea cartons included in their gift boxes. Our packets of tea have now reached new audiences and customers who would probably have been out of our reach otherwise.” -Neeraj, Tea People
Future Impact
We will continue to provide quality job and training opportunities to individuals with barriers to employment who pack our sustainable gift boxes and hampers in the Social Enterprise Warehouse. We want to provide 100 full-time, permanent positions and to do this, we need your orders. We are also working to expand our product range, and want to partner with 15 new social partners and introduce 100,000 people to social enterprise.
How we can help your business create an impact
We have been helping over 100 corporates to create a positive social impact through our sustainable corporate hampers. Corporates are taking sustainability seriously, with workers wanting to be a part of a team that cares about them and sustainability. Businesses look for ways to communicate this shared value and embed impact in their core. Workers want to feel as if their company is making a difference in society and many do not know about the CSR goals and other sustainable projects the company is working on. Corporates can start their journey to communicate this value by incorporating social enterprises into their supply chain. For example, instead of sending a generic welcome to the team gift, they can send a Social Stories Club sustainable employee gift box.
Corporates can include social enterprises in all aspects of their supply chain and not just by gifting sustainable corporate hampers. For more inspiration of social enterprises that can be used instead of traditional businesses, have a look at the products inside our corporate gift hampers. There are alternatives for teas, coffees, biscuits, soaps, and other drinks - all products used by corporates.
A sustainable corporate gift box is not only a great way to show employee appreciation but also to communicate the company's CSR goals and progress that have already been made through a personalised A6 card. Corporates are using the A6s cards in our corporate gift hampers to tell all their staff about volunteer days and funds raised for charities, among other efforts.
A sustainable employee gift box is a great way to start and welcome someone to your team and let them know what values your company stands for. Corporate gift hampers can also be given for birthdays, events, clients, work anniversaries, Christmas, maternity, bereavement, get well soon and more. Receiving a corporate gift hamper shows your company cares about you, and choosing a sustainable corporate gift box shows that the company cares about social impact and social enterprises.
We have designed our corporate gift hampers to make an impression and to ensure that no one forgets a Social Stories Club gift and who gave it to them. Our packaging is sustainable and beautiful, while the gifts themselves are lovingly packed. Each sustainable corporate gift box on our website has been designed to create an enormous positive impact on both, the receiver and communities. The receiver will feel warm and inspired as they appreciate the generous gesture and love the concept. Our gifts are an experience where the receiver can read the fascinating social stories and how their employee gift box is making an impact in communities.
After a large corporate order, we will send an impact report so you can understand the difference your order is making to communities including how many hours of employment have been created for individuals with barriers to employment by the purchase of the sustainable corporate hampers.
How HR workers are changing the world
Corporate gift hampers have been used as an HR strategy for years to build personal business relationships and attract and retain clients and employees. However, a report by PwC found that 65% of workers living in China, Germany, India, the UK, and the USA want to work for a company that has sustainability at its core. Despite workers valuing sustainability, only 36% of HR professionals are building their hiring strategies around their companies’ social and environmental values. HR professionals who are getting it right are working with all departments to ensure that sustainability is core of the organisation. They are also recognising that giving sustainable corporate gift hampers is a great way to attract and retain clients and employees.
Hear what HR expert Natalie O’Hare from Beyond HR has to say
“Social Stories Club is a fantastic initiative to help reward, thank, or let an employee know you are simply thinking about them. Behind each lovely item is a great story, for example, a candle that supports and empowers impoverished communities.
It’s good to be sending a lovely box but also knowing you are helping many social causes and therefore contributing to Corporate Social Responsibility. A great idea to send to employees, especially during these bizarre times when a thank you goes a long way.” - Natalie O’Hare
How you can help us create an impact
- Purchasing a gift box and introducing a friend to social enterprises and their stories
- Suggest our sustainable corporate gift hampers to whomever in your team is responsible for corporate gifts
- Join our newsletter
- Like, comment, and share our posts on social media
- Leave us a review
- Refer us to a friend or another business who may be interested in our sustainable corporate hampers
Thank you to all of our partners
