Make Your Mark: Change Lives

A campaign to inspire young people to use enterprising ideas for social and environmental change. It introduces them to social enterprises - businesses with primarily social or environmental aims, and whose profits are ploughed back into the business or community.

These range from farming and recycling initiatives to larger business like Café Direct. If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at our stories from people making their mark in social enterprise. You can get a useful insight into what social entrepreneurship is all about by listening to this recent Radio 4 programme on The Eden Project.

Make Your Mark: Change Lives is a year round campaign delivered by Make Your Mark and the Social Enterprise Coaltion, supported by the Office of the Third Sectoralong with a wide range of social enterprise, education and business partners.

What is social enterprise?

Even if you don’t know what a ‘social enterprise’ is you will have heard of at least one example! Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, the Eden Project and the Big Issue are just a few high profile examples. Social enterprises are simply businesses with aims which are primarily social or environmental and whose surpluses are ploughed back into the business or community rather than for personal gain.

One Water Project

Last year, One Water and Make Your Mark teamed up to launch the One Water Project for young people in the UK. The One Water Project was a competition open to young people through schools, colleges and youth organisations. Launched on Social Enterprise Day (Thursday 20 November 2008), we challenged teams of young people to come up with innovative and enterprising ways to make profits towards a good cause. One Water is a social enterprise that sells water in the developed world, and works with communities in Africa who don’t have clean water supplies or are in need of support with their public health programmes.

Visit the One Water Project page to find out more.

Trailblazers magazine

Trailblazers is a free magazine packed full of inspiring stories of people having enterprising ideas for social and environmental change… and making them happen. It tackles issues such as knife crime, climate change, poverty and development and showcases the myriad of social enterprise solutions to some of society’s (and the globe’s) greatest problems.

Download your copies (PDF)

Trailblazers 2008

Trailblazers 2007

Trailblazers 2006

Social Careers Surgery voxpops

Here are some more videos of social enterprise in action.

Streetz Ahead is a Birmingham based dance and drama company for young people. Founded by award winning social entrepreneur Lottie Cunningham, Streetz Ahead was set up when Lottie was just 13 years old.

Pro Touch Soccer Pro Touch Soccer Academy (PTSA) is a London based Social Enterprise set up to bridge the gap between grass roots and professional football by offering football coaching in a fun and supportive environment.

St Michael’s Church of England Business and Enterprise College Make Your Mark Clubs members at St Michael’s Church of England Business and Enterprise College have embraced the spirit of social enterprise with a Fair Trade retail project.