Spark+Mettle, helping young people create better lives

Pic: Chris Cain. Eugenie Teasley, director, Spark+Mettle

By Mark Mc Donagh

Spark+Mettle is a youth charity and social enterprise that helps 18-24 year olds, from less privileged backgrounds, pursue a life that they love and a career that will make them happy.

By providing training and arranging work placements Spark+Mettle enables its young people to create their own professional networks and move towards sustainable employment. I had the pleasure of meeting its director Eugenie Teasley. She is clearly passionate about the social enterprise and the role it plays in helping young people build their character strengths, soft skills and networks.

We Are What We Do, tackling obesity with healthy fast food

Pic; Chris. Tori Flower, We Are What We Do, Creative Director

By Francis Meert and Mark Mc Donagh

We Are What We Do is a not for profit company that makes positive changes in people’s behaviour; by creating products and services that combat specific social problems, like mental health, global warming and obesity.

Based in London and San Francisco the charitable foundation believe that giving people information is not enough to make them act on it. Instead they try to facilitate sustainable behavioural change, rather than create a short term reaction because something is the ‘right thing to do’.

This is achieved by running projects that become social enterprises in their own right and we were lucky to meet We Are What We Do’s creative director Tori Flower to find out about one of their recent award winning projects Box Chicken.

Week 3: Photography day 1

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Mental health report criticised over priority treatment for employed

A government report into mental health care has come under criticism after it called for preferential treatment for people in work.

The paper, by the chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies, estimated that around 70 million days were lost to mental illness last year costing the economy between £70 and £100 billion.

As a result the report calls for an investigation into fast-tracking people in work with mental health concerns to get the necessary care to minimise time taken off.

Crowdfunding merger positive for green initiatives

Crowdfunding organisations Buzzbnk and Trillion Fund have announced a merger. The companies will help organisations within the social sector raise funds with a focus on renewable energy.

Operations will begin pending shareholder approval on September 1. Julia Groves, chief executive of the Trillion Fund, said: “By joining forces Trillion Fund and Buzzbnk will create a crowdfunding resource of real scale.”