October Newsletter

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Dot Dot Dot’s October News

One of the best things about working in social enterprise is being part of community of people and organisations who are determined to innovate and graft to deal with the problems we face.

Growing something from an idea into a sustainable business which delivers significant, measurable impact is often hard work. But the whole thing is made easier and more enjoyable by being surrounded by others with a similar mission, who face comparable challenges in turning plans into a concrete reality. And it’s extremely motivating to see other organisations making a difference to important problems.

So it was great to go to the party celebrating the announcement of the New Radicals awards for ‘Britain’s brightest innovators and entrepreneurs’, as chosen by The Observer and Nesta. At Dot Dot Dot, we’re proud to be on the list of 50 individuals and organisations – chosen from more than 1000 nominations – who are doing the most to change and improve life across the country. It’s fantastic to be recognised and celebrated. But the best thing is being part of the community that the New Radicals list is drawn from – lots of inspirational people and organisations who are, in different ways, working effectively and intelligently to change things that they care about, and helping each other along the way. You can see some of us talking about the work we do in Nesta’s video from the event.

John Mulholland, Editor of The Observer, called the list “an antidote to apathy and cynicism”. Being part of the social enterprise sector regularly feels like that – it is possible to change things for the better through hard work and good ideas, so it’s worth battling through the stressful, boring and painful bits.

If you need a little bit more inspiration, have a read of our blogs about some of the great causes our guardians have been helping out this month – the Ian Mikado school, the Great Men project and the Big House Theatre Company.

All the best,
Katharine and the Dot Dot Dot team

Mural painting & being generally great…

We’ve made a video highlighting the work that our guardians have been doing at Positive East – London’s largest community based HIV charity. Their volunteering ranges from painting a mural to helping out with all aspects of the charity.

Spotlight on…

This month our Guardian Spotlight falls on Becky charities including GoodGym, Positive East, The People’s Kitchen and Hackney Pirates, and is always lending a hand where it’s needed.

Becky says: “Volunteering with east-end community projects allows me to do the things I love the most; run, cook, paint and meet so many interesting and amazing people, but with the added bonus of benefiting others at the same time”.

Make a difference yourself…

A brand new branch of GoodGym has started in Newham. GoodGym is a community of runners that run on missions together to help the community, through clearing community gardens or painting a wall at a community centre. Follow them @GGNewham

Become a Silver Line Friend volunteer. Silver Line friends offer a befriending service to older people, calling an older person once a week to check they are ok and to have a chat.

For more details on these opportunities and many others check out our weekly round up.