Inspiring junior global entrepreneurs bringing social businesses to life – with support from Big Issue! 

Across the UK and around the world, young people are stepping up to create real change in their communities through the power of social enterprise. From tackling local challenges to addressing global issues, these entrepreneurial students are gaining life-changing skills while making a tangible difference. Social Enterprise Academy supports young people to put their forward-thinking, innovative ideas into action, and earlier this year they partnered with Big Issue to tell their stories – and raise some funds too. 

Our dedicated 16-page supplement, which highlighted the incredible impacts that Social Enterprise Academy (SEA) schools projects have had – on pupils, their local communities and those around the globe, plus much more – was published in our Big Issue regular weekly magazine sold by our vendors in October.

An additional 590 copies were sent out to 10 schools across the UK for pupils to sell, to help boost the coffers of their own social enterprises, with a further 150 copies going to schools in the SEA network in Malaysia, Australia and Egypt.

Pupils at Mary Russell School in Paisley write, edit and publish their own social enterprise magazine – The Russell Record – with articles investigating important social issues and interviews with high profile people, and put profits from their sales towards a Calm Space at the school for pupils to use. They visited The Big Issue editorial office in Glasgow, and were inspired by editor Paul McNamee and his team. 

One pupil said afterwards: “It was good fun and a thoroughly enjoyable trip! I learned about the behind the scenes of creating a magazine and it was very interesting to see what goes on! The staff are lovely and brilliant with us – even giving us complimentary juice! They were very funny and helped us understand more that we can put into our project.”

Teacher Mr Greig McLeod, who supports the team running The Russell Record, added: “The Big Issue hosted a brilliant trip for our pupils, they made the day fit to our pupils ensuring that they both enjoyed themselves and learned a lot from the day. 

“Seeing the impact that a magazine can have on so many people was inspirational to the pupils and seeing how to create a professional standard product was very beneficial. The pupils came away full of aspiration and motivation to create the best product that they can.”

Mary Russell School’s pupils sold copies of our Big Issue SEA edition at their school fayre, raising £100 to add to developing their school’s social enterprise.

And schools including Ardnamurchan High, Carleith Primary, Hilldene Primary, Greatfields School and Bridgend Primary shared with us photos of their young social entrepreneurs posing proudly with their copies of The Big Issue and of their sell-off events.  

Kirsty Lynch, Head of Social Enterprise Schools (Scotland), said: “It is incredibly inspiring to see the impact our young changemakers across the UK and the world are making through their social enterprises. The Big Issue partnership has been invaluable in showcasing their work and amplifying their voices, and we are delighted to celebrate the young people we support in this way.”  

Just a taste of the schools’ social enterprises which we featured this year include:

• Pet supplies business providing affordable treats, food and toys for cat and dog owners;
• A music project with a Gaelic-language band at its heart, staging live events and releasing records;
• A group making soaps to raise funds for a homelessness charity and creating hygiene care kits for the people supported by the charity;
• A social enterprise magazine which raises issues pupils feel strongly about, with funds from sales enabling them to kit-out a calm space in the school as a refuge for their peers who need a break for their own wellbeing;
• A team who are tackling teen addiction to vaping, by sourcing non-harmful versions of vapes to help break the habit;
• And a garden project where fresh fruit and veg are grown as an affordable resource for pupils and their local community, as well as being sold to local businesses to help raise more funds to further grow their business.

We also showcased international schools projects including an Australian team creating sunscreen for surfers, with money going to communities affected by devastating cyclones in nearby Vanuatu; young people in Egypt running a tree-planting project and a designer recycling plastic to make jewellery; and a project in Malaysia capturing waste cooking oil to save it clogging the drainage systems, before recycling it as a raw material to make soaps and candles.

This is the sixth year that Big Issue and Social Enterprise Academy have worked together to create a dedicated magazine showcasing the incredible year-round hard work, creativity and skill that young people put into their businesses.

MD of Publishing at Big Issue, Russell Blackman, said: “We are continually impressed by the outstanding commitment of these young people to learning how the power of successful social business can create opportunity and deliver widespread benefits to their communities.

“It’s not just about raising money to do good things for their community – young people also gain so much from being part of the Social Enterprise Academy movement, life-skills that have the power to transform lives. Changing Lives Through Enterprise is Big Issue Group’s key motivation, and we are delighted to be able to support and highlight how new generations of social entrepreneurs are driving this forward with such energy, creativity, pragmatism and optimism.”

Neil McLean, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise Academy, added: “We believe that we all have the ability to make a change to the things that impact our community, with the right support.”

Find out more about Social Enterprise Academy Schools here https://socialenterprise.academy/social-enterprise-schools/

Pictures supplied by Social Enterprise Academy