Santander awards £45,000 to Yorkshire social enterprises

EIGHT SOCIAL enterprises from Yorkshire have been awarded funds totalling £45,000 from b anking giant Santander.

The bank’s Social Enterprise Development Awards recognise the work of social enterprises and trading charities that are looking to grow to support their local community.

This year’s awards granted a total of £1.2m to 146 social enterprises around the country.

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Winners at the awards receive between £2,500 and £20,000 to support a specific growth project that will help the impact of their social enterprise.

Santander regional director Neil Williams said: “There are some truly outstanding enterprises and charities from across the region.

“We hope that the funding and support programme will help them reach their potential and increase their social impact.”

The region’s winners included Re-read, a Doncaster-based organisation that recycles unwanted books.

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Re-read re-sells books headed for landfill, with the support of volunteers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Get Out More helps people from disadvantaged backgrounds across West Yorkshire to engage with nature through outdoor activities.

In Halifax, Love Bread Community Kitchen holds bread making workshops to improve the wellbeing of the local community.

Solutions for the Planet, based in Bradford, helps to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills and experience for young people in the city.

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Sheffield-based Soberistas is a social network that offers peer support on alcohol addiction.

Historic arts and events venue Left Bank Leeds was also a recipient of an award, along with Emmaus Hull, a charity supporting local homeless people by providing training and employment.

Grow, in Halifax, completed the list. It provides learning experiences for school pupils outside of the classroom by delivering healthy lifestyle sessions tailored around growing food and promoting biodiversity.

Launched in 2011, the Social Enterprise Development Awards have provided more than £5m in awards to over 300 social enterprises nationwide.

Government data suggests there are around 70,000 social enterprises in the UK contributing £18.5bn to the economy.