Podcasts about Community interest company

This is a conversation with Elliot Newton and Ben Stockwell of Citizen Zoo, a Community Interest Company that are rewilding urban areas with communities.We talk about:What rewilding in the city meansGrazing animals in urban green spacesReintroducing water voles and beavers to LondonBringing white storks back to LondonThe challenges and opportunities of rewilding citiesLinksCitizen Zoo website: https://www.citizenzoo.org/ This is part of the urban rewilding podcast series. Listen to all the episodes in the series here: https://greenurbanistpod.com/rewilding- - - https://greenurbanist.org/ Consulting: Book a Discovery Call to discuss your project Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter The Green Urbanist podcast is hosted by Ross O'Ceallaigh.

Original Episode: Ep 031 - LBdr Ryan Yates from 10th December 2022.In this Viewpoint: Ryan shares founding a not-for-profit Community Interest Company called Veteran's Army, where they help veterans and their family.He also gives advice for people thinking of joining the military, plus some good advice for people as a veteran.Watch Full Episode on YouTube:Part 1: youtu.be/Sg86jFIE7ygPart 2: youtu.be/6hTzCq-ayNUTikTok:tiktok.com/@militaryveteranspodcastInstagram:instagram.com/militaryveteranspodcastLinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/military-veterans-podcastMerchandise:milvetpodcast.com/merchSend us a textSupport the show

Those who could benefit most from the legal system are often those least able to access it. As this episode's guest, Stephen Kinsella, notes, "There are only so many cake stalls and jumble sales you can have in a local community, in order to raise funds to pay a lawyer." So that's where his organisation, Law for Change, steps in – as a Community Interest Company that helps provide financial backing and indemnities to cover legal costs for cases with significant societal impact. Join host Becky Annison as she and Stephen discuss the motivations that led him to set up Law for Change and how the organisation selects its cases to carry out its mission. With an eye toward cases that will benefit society, or that could establish or refine important legal principles, the organisation has assisted with cases across a broad spectrum, including on issues such as fracking and police misconduct. More broadly, Stephen talks about current challenges facing the UK legal system, including court backlogs and antiquated systems, and his concerns about a judicial system that relies on philanthropy to fill gaps. You can find out more about Law for Change here: https://www.lawforchange.uk

What does it take to turn a family passion into a powerful force for nature? In this episode of two halves, we start with an update about The Grange Project, including the last 6 months of physical interventions, our evolving business structure, and the latest developments at The Grange Distillery and Studio. We then move into conversation with Helen Neave, co-founder of Make it Wild, where we discuss their purpose of protecting nature across 500 acres in North Yorkshire, using carbon-offsetting and corporate partnerships to create a sustainable financial model.Your Hosts:Tom Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/Chloe Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-constable-24155821b/Helpful Links:Website: https://www.grangeproject.co.ukPodcast Journey Page: https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcastGrange Distillery: https://grangedistillery.com/Grange Project Contact & Social Media:Email: hello@grangeproject.co.ukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/grange.project/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/grangeprojectYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrangeProjectLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/Our Guest: Helen Neave, Make it Wild:Helen is a retired surgeon on a mission to change the planet. Alongside her husband, Christopher Neave, they turned their family passion for nature into Make it Wild. With nature reserves across North Yorkshire, they have planted over 80,000 trees, dug ponds, restored wildflower hay meadows, protected ancient woodland and created many different habitats across over 500 acres. Working in partnerships with businesses, whether through carbon-offsetting, team conservation days or natural mindfulness walks, their purpose is to protect nature.Website: https://www.makeitwild.co.uk/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-neave-42200938/Listen out for:[00:00:00] Chloe and Tom describe the structure of the episode, including a brief introduction to our guest, Helen from Make it Wild, and a brief summary of the landscape of the Grange Project.[00:04:06] Chloe leads an update in numbers about the physical interventions that have occurred across the project since September 2024; including trees, brash piles, yellow rattle, the tiny forest and our market garden. [00:10:35] Tom moves into a conversation about the structure of the Grange Project and the decision to move from a Community Interest Company into a Limited Company and Charity.[00:12:51] Finally, we update on the other commercial updates across the project: The Grange Distillery and the Grange Studio.[00:15:47] Helen introduces herself and the mission and landscape of Make it...

Send us a textHave you ever wondered what it takes to create a legacy that inspires generations? Elizabeth's journey with A2i Dyslexia reveals the heart-wrenching reality of building an impactful charity that faced closure due to financial constraints. We unravel how her dedication—despite years of unpaid work—has ignited a movement within Black neurodivergent communities, leading to initiatives like Akua Daniels Neuronoir network empowering events for Black neurodivergent and queer voices. Join us as we explore the ongoing influence of Elizabeth's work and how it continues to spur advocacy and connection among those who need it most.Navigating the complexities of running a Community Interest Company, especially one focused on supporting the Black dyslexic community, is no small feat. Together, we reflect on the bittersweet journey of managing A2i  Dyslexia and the inevitable decision to close its doors. Yet, the true legacy lies in the pioneering efforts to create supportive spaces and the profound impact left in its wake. This episode is a heartfelt conversation on embracing challenges, celebrating achievements, and providing wisdom for future entrepreneurs eager to forge their own paths in neurodiversity advocacy.Building a business with a focus on mental well-being and support is more relevant than ever. We delve into strategies for establishing a solid foundation, the importance of a skilled team, and the power of resilience—as exemplified by icons like Simon Cowell. From the intricacies of project management exams to the supportive network of the Neuroenigma  Month membership, we offer insights and resources for navigating the neurodiversity landscape. This episode is a resource for those seeking mentorship and community in their professional journeys while embracing their unique neurodivergent identities.Support the showJoin, support, and access exclusive episodes now.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2083560/subscribe(@divineenigma338) Instagram (@divineenigma) please complete the form before you book ● Join Sarah's 6-week coaching: https://divineenigma.org/product/6-week-coaching-plan/ Join Today!NeuroEnigma Membership if you'd like to support this independent podcast, click for free ebook Producer & Host: Sarah Music: “She Royalty” by Amaro & “Whistle” by Lukas Got Lucky

For this almost-delve into Moorcock's dark and inspired quest fantasy The Warhound and the World's Pain, I'm joined by author, playwright and Games Master David Griffiths. Inevitably, we ended up going down various routes in a wide-ranging conversation including Target Books (again), Moorcock and other inspirations, roleplaying games and, eventually, The Warhound and the World's Pain, which is getting a fresh coat of paint thanks to Joe Monti and Saga Press and their brand-new hardcover Von Bek collection (releasing in December). We will follow up on this in the next few weeks with a deeper delve. We also discuss Dave's latest play, inspired by the events that led an under-sexed weirdo to produce the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, The Hammer and Helena. This is the latest of Dave's plays to be staged by Arts Groupie, a Liverpool-based Community Interest Company. Check out their website for more details, including Dave's take on the Dickens classic ghost story, The Signalman.

From Corporate to Community Interest Company - The Challenging Way!Tune in for an inspiring conversation on resilience and innovation in the face of life's challenges, Sian and Michele are joined Adelle Martin, co-founder of Stronger Together Through Cancer, as she shares her journey from a successful 32-year corporate career to becoming a champion for women dealing with menopause and then onto business people dealing with cancer. After her myeloma diagnosis, Adelle shifted her focus to sustainable business practices and created a nonprofit dedicated to supporting business people impacted by cancer. Discover her insights on effective time management, the power of saying no, and building a vital network of vetted collaborators. Created and hosted by Sian Murphy with regular co-hosts Michele Yianni Attard, Kay Best, Rachael Bryant and occasionally Adelle Martin.Find out how to be a guest or patron of the show at https://thewomeninbusinessradioshow.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-women-in-business-radio-show--1228431/support.

In this week's episode of the Torbay Hospitality Podcast, we welcome international street artist and local heroes, Szabotage. Tune in to hear about his unexpected start in the art world, his adventures in Hong Kong, and how you can commission your very own work of art from his new studio in Cockington! Visit the website: https://szabotage.com.hk/ We also share some exciting news—our podcast is now a Community Interest Company! Discover what this means for our local hospitality scene and meet our fantastic board members who are dedicated to supporting and promoting Torbay's amazing hospitality businesses. Plus, we have breaking news from local restaurants, upcoming events, and innovative ideas sweeping through Torbay's vibrant culinary community. Don't miss the scoop on Beamers Restaurant in Brixham, The Bay's relaunch, and the return of Torbay Pride. Introduction to Gus and Hannah, known locally as street artist Szabotage. Career Journey: Szabotage's start in the art world and his adventures in Hong Kong. New Studio in Cockington and projects. Commissioning Art: How you can own art from Szabotage. Exciting News for Our Podcast New CIC Status: Our first board meeting was a success! This change will help us access grants and promote local hospitality businesses more effectively. Board Members: Dean Sanders, Hugh Murthwaite, Christopher Thorpe, Hollie Newbold, Craig Gomez, Lyn Spindley News and events Beamers Restaurant Closure in Brixham. A heartfelt farewell to a beloved local spot. Upcoming Events at Sandridge Barton, including VINOYASA, Seafood Feast events and various gigs. Marldon Apple Pie Fair on 7th September with food, drink, and fun activities for the whole family. The Bay's Relaunch with a new menu and exciting offerings like the Bay Smash Burger, grilled asparagus side dish, and exclusive 818 Tequila cocktails. Torbay Pride returns from 6th-8th September with a parade, live entertainment, and local food and drink. We are raising money for Pride! Check our instagram profile for updates on how you can donate. Innovations Las Iguanas Torquay introduces a Taco of the Month - Hot Honey Chicken (yes please!) Offshore launches a new Veggie Mezze and Mediterranean Fish Stew, available as a starter or a main - both served with toasted flatbreads. Pier Point hosts Santa's Grotto in aid of Rowcroft Hospice - make a day of it with the Panto at the Princess Theatre! Palmcoco on Torwood St launches their own Spotify playlist - we have subscribed already. Insights and Announcements Question Time with Kelly discussing the value of training in the hospitality industry. Check out our survey (How many days of training do you offer to your staff?) Viral Reviews a story featuring Soho's clever response to a negative review - we are still chuckling. Awards Update - We are delighted to announce Robin Barker will be joining us for a chat before the 2025 award season. Behind the Bar with a recipe for Frozen Espresso Martini. Who will be the first in the bay to offer this drink? We'll be there for a taste! Patreon Launch with exclusive behind-the-scenes content and competitions, including a chance to win a seat at the 7 Chefs event in Paignton. Join us next week for more exciting updates and interviews with local hospitality heroes. Don't forget to subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive content and competitions. Subscribe on and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest news and updates. Feel free to reach out with feedback or questions at contact@torbayhospitality.co.uk. Stay tuned, and keep supporting Torbay's hospitality community!

In this episode, we talk to Rachel Mostyn and Camilla Rigby. Rachel and Camilla are co-founders of Women's Work Lab, a Community Interest Company which supports the careers of women and single parents in the South West of England.  Women's Work Lab Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation Cambridge Social VenturesFollow the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter YouTubeFollow the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation on:FacebookInstagram LinkedInTwitterYouTube

We don't know where you grew up or where you call home, but we're from Stoke-on-Trent. Oatcakes, Port Vale, the friendliest and funniest people on Earth. Northern Soul and the rave scene. Shelleys, Kinetic, and Golden. And, of course, Wedgwood and Brindley. Have you never heard of it? As a kid, we'd tell people we were from Manchester because everyone knows Manchester, and it's cool. But Stoke? Pah. We're ashamed to say we never sang its praises. But what did we know? We left Stoke for Manchester, seeking our fortune. But that was many years ago. And we've recently returned to the area. We see Stoke with fresh eyes now and proudly tell people that's where we're from. Funny enough, we weren't the only ones with this attitude. Stoke has an unfair reputation, which is absurd given its affectionately known as The Potteries – a creative city that creates art from dirt and is now named the World Capital of Ceramics. But despite its incredible industrial heritage, the local and national news just seems to spout negative stories, and everyone talks about its decline. But one person is hoping to change all that. Simon Davies is an industrial and product designer and co-founder of Protect-a-Pet, a company that sells his inventions worldwide, which help protect cats from the risk of free roaming. Si has big ambitions for the city. He is hugely passionate about the region and believes it's on the brink of a resurgence. A rebirth. Fed up with seeing a place in post-industrial decline and driving past derelict buildings each day on his way to work, he and some others have set up a Community Interest Company called The Teapot Factory to bring people together and drive change. He's also behind a 'netwalking' event called the Teapot Tours, the first of which was attended by a few Chamber of Commerce members and some local artists. The idea was to bring together creatives and business people, something Stoke is famous for. The walks are guided by a local history expert and end at a venue with an interesting speaker or poet. We wanted to find out more about a city with so much potential, a proud history, a talented workforce and a network of local creatives determined to make the Potteries legendary once more. This season is proudly sponsored by MPB, the largest global platform for buying, selling, and trading used photo and video equipment. Visit MPB.com to find out more.

Lotus Collaborations is a Community Interest Company, set up to address the needs of autistic survivors of sexual violence and sexual abuse.Its directors are Neurodivergent Survivors and allies with experience in accessing and providing specialist support and mentoring to victim-survivors of sexual violence."There's big gap in understanding among  service providers and the general public," says  director, Dr Susy Ridout, “and our needs very often don't get addressed. The autistic voice isn't heard at all, and our needs are very different to those of the predominant neurotype, the predominant public. We need to have services who do understand that."Susy covers:• The impacts on people if their communication preferences, sensory and other needs are not properly understood• How Lotus' team and beneficiaries are developing its services and resources to meet the requirements of individuals and services• How health practitioners are responding to or addressing survivors: poor and good practices• Practices which make people feel validated• The value of support from Sheffield Social Enterprise Network, Social Enterprise Exchange and the SEGA / SSEN peer mentoring and action learning programme• Securing contracts or funding• Engaging with your beneficiariesLotus Collaborations is currently recruiting volunteers:  https://reachvolunteering.org.uk/org/lotus-collaborations-uk-cic Also on this episode: new funding opportunities: The PPL Momentum Music Fund (grants of £5 to £15,000); Feasibility studies for Artificial Intelligence solutions (grants  between £25,000 and £50,000).This is episode 395 of the Business Live radio show, for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs. Thanks for listening to the programme and to Sheffield Live! for broadcasting us on DAB and FM radio. Podcast image features: Lotus Collaborations' logo.

Today on Sauna Talk we welcome Charlie from Community Sauna Baths in England. Who is Community Sauna Baths? Well, they are Community Interest Company, a CIC, who is dedicated to providing affordable sauna sessions to the communities they serve. Currently with four locations, including their flagship locale in Hackney, East London. Here is where we catch up with Charlie, one of the directors at Community Sauna Baths for this podcast. Currently Community Sauna Baths are serving thousands of customers from the area. Local Londoners as well as a lot of visitors from abroad. Irish, some Finns, you name it. Early influences As you'll here, Charlie grew up with the classic toaster oven experience at health clubs. Then, he was deeply affected to the positive, partacking in sauna at the Finnish Church and also Lost Horizons, the pop up social sauna in London. Feeling a tug to help advance the social communal experience, Charlie leaned in to helping with the ambitious Hackney Baths fundraising project with the British Sauna Society. The fundraising came up short, but it did pave the way towards a more organic project. 2 donated saunas, one from Charlie. Covid and beyond We talk about countless hours of donated time to host sessions. How they are learning as we are going, starting slow by serving random members of the public in Hackney London. Slow organic growth. Adding days. Modifying and improving the site. Victoria and Gabrielle building website and marketing. Community Baths today The staff provides a real nice blend of skills. Part of the beauty is that good heat and cold does most of the heavy lifting. Staff supports the good heat and cold, and people benefit from and enjoy the experience. Looking to grow. Charlie is helping work on a new site. We learn about the South London project, in Peckam, as part of the community garden. Bringing saunas into natural spots in London. 4th one in Normandy. Rob's project. The first beach sauna in France. UK affordable and inclusive. Charlie's career Charlie cut his teeth as a management consultant. Great learning experience. Freelance consulting. Started a mushroom farm. Full time. Able to pay himself a salary. Well paying job for staff. Community interest Company. A commercial mind with a non for profit structure. New community sauna in Bristol. Using profits to seed other new saunas. Setting the seeds for a community Sauna Network.

Clare joins Hannah Engelkamp and her donkey, Chico, for a ramble in the Dyfi Valley a few miles east of Machynlleth in Powys. On the way Hannah tells Clare about the extraordinary adventure she shared with Chico when they walked 1000 miles around the perimeter of Wales. She did this despite having no previous experience of donkeys, or horses, or any animals really. It took twice as long as she intended and was much harder than she ever imagined. The idea of 'carrot or stick' doesn't work, Hannah says, so the first thing she learned was when a donkey stops you just have to wait and stand and look and wait until the moment seems right to move off again. Hannah also tells Clare about her involvement with 'Slow Ways'. It's a Community Interest Company whose aim is to map, improve, and promote walking routes between Britain's towns, cities and villages. Clare and Hannah met at Grid Ref: SH 850 027, and walked a section of a Slow Way known as ‘Maccar One' near Chico's home at Dyfi Donkey Woods. Maccar One is 23 miles long and connects Machynlleth with Carno. Slow Ways are named for the first three letters of the place at either end of a route e.g. Mac for Machynlleth and Car for Carno.Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Thank you for listening to Write On! Audio, the podcast for writers everywhere brought to you by Pen to Print This month's showcase is selected by Helen Aitchison.  Hailing from the north-east of England, Helen combines writing with her work as the director of a Community Interest Company, 'Write On The Tyne', which provides creative writing courses and mentoring with a focus on engaging marginalised people in the area.   Helen also teaches for her local council, is a freelance writer for Story Terrace and an on-line journalist for Radio Gateshead. The pieces selected by Helen are •      The Strange Magic Of New Beginnings, by Christian Ward •      After Print, by Viv Fogel •      A snippet from Duty, a memoir by Jeff Stephenson •      Enough by Helen Aitchison The pieces are read by Chris Gregory and Sally Walker-Taylor and introduced by Helen Aitchison. After Print is part of the poetry collection Imperfect Beginnings, published by Fly On The Wall Press. It is available from Amazon and good bookshops. Thank you to Helen Aitchison for selecting this month's showcase.   You can find out more about Helen by visiting her website https://helenaitchisonwrites.wordpress.com/   You can follow Helen on X, formerly Twitter here https://twitter.com/aitchisonwrites And Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/helen.aitchison_writes/     We're always delighted to read your contributions so if you'd like to see your words in Write on! or hear them on this podcast please get in touch. Please submit to: https://pentoprint.org/get-involved/submit-to-write-on/   Thank you for listening to Write On! Audio. This edition has been presented by Tiffany Clare and produced by Chris Gregory. Write On! Audio is an Alternative Stories production for Pen to Print.   This podcast is produced using public funding from Arts Council England

In today's podcast, we aim to explore and demystify the common misconceptions surrounding tax obligations for Community Interest Companies (CICs). As passionate advocates of business finance, we want to illuminate the intricate relationship between CICs and their tax responsibilities.Understanding Community Interest Companies (CICs)Defining CICsFirstly, before tax, let's define what a Community Interest Company, or CIC, entails. Despite charities, CICs blend social enterprise with an entrepreneurial spirit, all in the pursuit of benefiting their communities.CICs vs. CharitiesIn a crucial clarification, being a CIC doesn't equate to being a charity. Even though charities enjoy specific tax exemptions, CICs navigate a different landscape with its own set of rules and obligations.Tax Obligations for CICsGenerating SurplusNotably, CICs often find themselves generating a surplus, equivalent to profit in the private sector. Regardless of the positive connotations, it's important to note that this surplus is not exempt from corporation tax.Mitigating Tax LiabilityFurthermore, while there are strategies to mitigate tax liability, CICs engaging in commercial activities, grants, or donations must adhere to regular rules governing corporation tax.Value Added Tax (VAT) ConsiderationsImpact of Commercial ActivitiesShifting our attention to VAT considerations, it becomes relevant when CICs engage in commercial activities. Upon crossing the statutory turnover limit necessitates VAT registration.Obligations Despite StructureMoreover, whether limited by guarantee or shares, CICs cannot evade VAT obligations. This emphasizes the responsibility of navigating tax intricacies, regardless of their structural nuances.Employment and National InsuranceEmployee Tax ResponsibilitiesAs CICs employ staff, they inevitably step into the realm of employer National Insurance obligations. This additional duty adds to the responsibility of operating payroll schemes, a critical aspect of tax compliance.Clarifying Employee StatusMoreover, it's essential to recognize that the distinction between an employee and a freelancer is about the developed relationship. This topic we'll explore further in future podcasts.CIC Structure and Tax RulesLimited by Guarantee vs. Limited by SharesBy distinguishing between CIC structures, whether limited by guarantee or shares, it significantly impacts tax considerations. Dividends and fund withdrawals have specific rules that must be navigated.Advisor GuidanceIn cases of uncertainty about the intricacies of CIC structures, seeking advice from experts is paramount. Our inbox at IHATENUMBERS is open to support your queries, ensuring you have the guidance needed.Grant Income and Accounting ConsiderationsHandling Grant IncomeGrant income, essential for many CICs, comes with accounting nuances. Therefore, understanding restricted funds ensures accurate representation in financial records, a practice essential for tax compliance.Not a Tax-Free CardFurther, with receiving grant income, CICs must recognize that it is not a carte blanche for tax exemption. Grant income serves specific project delivery purposes, and understanding its implications is critical.ConclusionIn essence, being a CIC doesn't exempt one from tax obligations. It's a social enterprise vehicle combining an entrepreneurial trading spirit with income generated from various sources. We hope this episode clarifies common misconceptions about tax and CICs.If you found this episode useful, we encourage you to share it within your...

We took the podcast to the Blue Earth Summit 2023 in Bristol. Please check out our instagram feed @fortheloveofweather to get a flavour of what we got up to. We captured and shared as many speakers and guests as we could! We were absolutely blown away by the amazing talks and conversations we had and most importantly people's willingness to give us their time to talk about what they were passionate about. The Blue Earth Summit is held over 3 days where Bristol plays host to 5,000+ decision makers, industry pioneers, provocative thought-leaders, sustainability trailblazers, insightful solutionists and boundary-pushing start ups. It's the place to explore, meet, learn, collaborate and take action.FYI The Blue Earth Summit was incredibly busy! There is back ground noise but hopefully you will take away something from the mini podcasts we managed to record. ——————————Our first guest.Meet Emma Askew @Emmaaskewuk, founder of @Earthminutesuk . Their mission is to drive the future of environmental learning and thinking, making it accessible to everyone but also sharing it in a way that is sustainable. Emma was quite simply so inspiring to talk to. She is from the soil science sector which she said was a really important inflection point for her. This is where she realised there was a huge gap between the science she was working in and the communications of the science.Emma speaks so passionately about encouraging young people into leadership early and building a connection with the environment from a young age. She says she has hope for the future and community is where hope grows through community action. ——————————Our second guest.Michael Cunningham is the founder of the 9trees Community Interest Company, founded in 2018. Michael was originally involved in conservation and observed that while he was completing a lot of work, woodlands were changing rapidly and not all conservation work was having positive impact. Michael decided he wanted to do something about this. He worked out that each individual in the UK roughly emits 9 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere annually. Each tree (based on a hectare of woodland) sequesters 1 tonne of carbon over the lifecycle of any one tree and so 9trees was born. Individuals or businesses can sponsor trees to create woodlands or nature reserves that you can visit today and watch flourish over time. Michael describes this as watching hope grow. So far the company has planted 15,000 trees but they plan to plant 10,000 trees every year over the next few years and in every county in the UK with Northern Ireland being the next country to plant in. You can find Michael's company at https://www.9trees.org and on instagram @9treesuk —————————Our final guestMeet Sandra - chair of the West Bristol climate action group. Sandra talks about how small local changes are very important nationally. She wants to create wildlife corridors locally and between other towns. Sandra's message is that decarbonising in small ways adds up to large changes. You can find Sandra at http://www.westbristolclimateaction.org

Vikram is the Co-Founder of The Sacred Groves, a Community Interest Company, incorporated in England & Wales. The Sacred Groves is a nature conservation platform that enables environmentally conscious individuals and entities to play their part in protecting our environment, rainforest, wildlife, mountains, and planet's natural habitats to help our ecosystem grow and thrive. More details and ways to support them are here - https://www.sacredgroves.earth/

We talk about community interest companies and the importance of food in this episode. Milly Fyfe is a digital marketing expert, blogger, podcaster, farmer's wife, mum of 2, food producer and the founder of No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents CIC. She's formerly worked for the Shorthorn Society and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution amongst others. All in all she has a passion for flying the flag for British agriculture. No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents website - No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents - Milly FyfeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoFussMealsForBusyParentsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nofussmealsforbusyparents/Hero video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/882150057Podcast: https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-countryside-kitchen/Crowdfunding link: https://gogetfunding.com/seedcorn-fund-to-assist-no-fuss-meals-for-busy-parents-cic/ Make sure to check us out at RuralPod Media. You can follow Rural Business Focus and contact Ben on Twitter @ruralbf_pod or on Instagram @ruralbusinessfocusHave you thought about the benefits of podcasting for your business? If you  want to find out more or work with Ben to make your own podcast or to organise some podcast training for your business visit ruralpodmedia.co.uk Our podcast disclaimer can be found here. 

Justin Galliford BSc(Hons) MSc MBA Dip MC Justin began his career as an environmental scientist. At the age of 22 he started his own environmental consultancy, helping organisations improve their environmental performance and ensuring regulatory compliance. He joined the Norse Group in 2006 to help manage environmental performance regarding waste management and landfill operations. Following a period working on a waste treatment PFI project he began to move through the wider Group, changing roles every few years to broaden and develop his knowledge and management skills. At the age of 30 he undertook a part-time MBA whilst moving in to more senior management roles. Having run the Group's facilities management company as Chief Operating Officer for several years, he was appointed CEO of the Norse Group in May 2022. Justin remains committed to improving the environmental performance of organisations and has led the formation of the Norse Group's “Net Zero” strategy as part of a wider ESG strategy. Justin is also a Director of Norfolk ProHelp – a Community Interest Company which supports not-for profit organisations, and is also Chair of HMP Wayland's Employment Advisory Board – helping ex- offenders find work and settle back into life upon release from prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we delve deeper into the legal structures behind IDEMS as a social enterprise. Santiago Borio interviews David Stern, a co-founder of IDEMS, and questions him on the technicalities behind IDEMS the business, the somewhat challenging decisions made when setting it up, and the potential to demonstrate an alternative way to make sound business decisions while maintaining a thoughtfully ethical mindset.

In the ninth episode of this podcast series, Ana Lemmo Charnalia, Senior Business Manager at UCLB, is in conversation with Orla O'Donnell , Divisional Manager at the UCL Div of Biosciences and former Chief Operating Officer of Health Digital CIC, a Community Interest Company incorporated in 2015 to commercialise HeLP-Diabetes. It is also an opportunity to celebrate Professor Elizabeth Murray's life, who led in the development of HeLP-Diabetes. Join them in this discussion about their experiences and learnings from an early-stage social venture to the national roll-out of an online programme for people with type 2 diabetes. Date of episode recording: 2023-09-05 Duration: 00:20:44 Language of episode: English Presenter: Ana Lemmo Charnalia Guests: Orla O'Donnell Producer: Nora Amin

Alright team, after a little hiatus from the CIHAS pod for a month, we're coming back hard with Molly Forbes. Molly joined me back in May 2022 on the Don't Salt My Game pod where we discussed how to stomp out diet culture in schools, and I'm so excited to have her join us in today's episode.This time around, we discuss what the NCMP is, what it looks like in different schools, why you might want to opt your kid out, how you even go about doing that, and what you can do if you're worried about your child feeling left out if they're the ones who are left in the classroom while everyone else goes to get weighed.Find out more about Molly's work here.Follow her work on Instagram here.Follow Laura on Instagram here.Subscribe to my newsletter here.Read more about the history of and evidence behind the NCMP here:Here's the transcript in full:INTRO:Laura Thomas: Hey and welcome to the Can I Have Another Snack? podcast, where we talk about appetite, bodies and identity, especially through the lens of parenting. I'm Laura Thomas, I'm an anti-diet registered nutritionist and I also write the Can I Have Another Snack newsletter. Today I'm talking to Molly Forbes.Molly is a journalist, campaigner and non profit founder. She's the author of the book Body Happy Kids: How to Help Children and Teens Love the Skin They're In and she's the founding director of the Body Happy Organisation CIC a social enterprise dedicated to promoting positive body image in children. I asked Molly to come on during the back to school season because we need to talk about the National Weight Measurement Programme, or the NCMP.This is the programme where children in England have their height and weight taken in schools at age 4-5, so in reception and then again in year six, which is ages 10 or 11. My understanding is that this happens in various forms throughout the UK. So in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland too. Although let me know in the comments how it's different for you or, you know, what the similarities are if you're in one of those countries. The UK government have taken the position that this is an innocuous practice. But, as I discussed with Molly, this is not reflected in the body image research. The programme is associated with poorer body image, which in turn is linked to disordered eating, body preoccupation, and lower overall sense of well being.So Molly and I, in this episode, go on to discuss what the NCMP is, what it looks like in different schools, why you might want to opt your kid out, how you even go about doing that, and what you can do if you're worried about your child feeling left out if they're the ones who are left in the classroom while everyone else goes to get weighed.I really hope you will share this episode with your school WhatsApp group, your friend group, with the teachers in your school, and help end the tyranny of the NCMP. You can also share Body Happy Org and Any Body UK's Informed Decision Making Pack and my writing on the NCMP, all of which I'll link to in the show notes for you.All right, before we get to Molly, I want to tell you real quick about the benefits of becoming a paid subscriber to the Can I Have Another Snack? newsletter and community. Now, I know we're not used to having to pay for content on the internet, and why would you pay for something where 85% of the content is free? Well, that's a great question. I'd love to answer it for you. Well, because without paying supporters, this work just wouldn't be possible. As well as supporting me in the time it takes to research, interview contributors and write articles, your support goes towards paying guests for their time and their labour, as well as a podcast and newsletter editor. You also help keep this space ad and sponsor free so I don't have to sell out to advertisers or exploit my kid for freebies. Plus keeping the community closed to paying subscribers only means that we keep the trolls and the fatphobes out.I recently asked the CIHAS community why they support the newsletter, and this is what they had to say: “I am a mum of one, fairly adventurous, self-proclaimed vegetarian and one theoretical omnivore. The latter survives almost exclusively on added sugar and butter, but mostly sugar. I consumed all the picky eating advice, some of it really well-meaning, and pretty mellow. But by seven years in, I was more frustrated, confused, and full of self-doubt than ever. Enter CIHAS. The no-nonsense, cut through the bullshit, science-backed content is exceptional. The content about sugar is especially helpful to me, and the anti diet lens is an anecdote to my extremely anti-fat slash diet-culture conditioning. And as an American, the British references are just an added bonus to say your work is actively changing. My life is not an understatement. Thank you.” Well, thank you to the reader who shared that lovely testimonial, and if that hasn't inspired you to become a paid subscriber, I don't know what will. It's just a fiver a month or £50 for the entire year, and you get loads of cool perks, as well as just my undying gratitude for supporting my work.Head to laurathomas.substack.com to subscribe now.  All right team, here's Molly. MAIN EPISODE:Laura Thomas: Hey Molly, can you start by telling us a bit about you and the work that you do? Molly Forbes: Yeah. So I run an organisation called the Body Happy Organisation. We're a CIC, so a Community Interest Company, or a social enterprise. Or if you're in the US, you might know that model is like a non profit. And essentially what we're all about is trying to create environments that allow children's body image to thrive.So we're really looking at prevention and we're looking at how we can create, kind of, culture change in schools and youth clubs and anywhere that children hang out and are to help, kind of, create an environment that just allows kids to just be at peace and friends with their body. And then all the other benefits that come with that, including how they treat other children with bodies that don't look or function like their own.And I also wrote a book called Body Happy Kids, which is for adults,  teachers, parents…I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a dietitian. I'm not a psychologist. But I'm a journalist by trade. So I've really interested in that kind of media and culture angle when it comes to this subject. And that kind of informs, I guess, the lens that I come to this through. But in our organisation, we do have lots of different people from a range of different disciplines, which I think is also what makes us kind of special because we're not at it just from like a body image researcher lens, for example, or just from a nutritional food lens.We're looking at it from, like, a range of different perspectives.Laura Thomas: Yeah, the work that you do is really important. And one sort of thread of the work that you're doing is around the National Child Measurement Programme or the NCMP, which is what I wanted to ask you about today. So when this goes out, it's September, it's back to school time. And I know there's a lot going on on parents' radars at point in time, but I don't think that the NCMP registers as like something that's high up parents list, you know, in that back to school period.And in fact, I think a lot of parents don't even know what that is, or the fact that their kids will automatically be enrolled in it. So I wondered if you could start by explaining what the NCMP is and why do schools do this?Molly Forbes: Okay, so the NCMP, it stands for National Child Measurement Programme.  it was brought in to schools in 2006. And then in 2012, they started including the feedback element of the programme. And essentially what it is, it's exactly what it says on the tin. It's a national child measurement programme.So what happens is if your child goes to a state funded school,  and they're in reception or year six, then they will be weighed and they will have their height and their weight measured in school, as part of that programme, unless you opt them out.So in 2018, when the GDPR rules changed around GDPR, they kind of changed the way that, like, the logistics will work. So what you really need to know is if your child's in reception or your child's in year six from September, like in this next academic year, they will be weighed in school, unless you actively opt out.It's a way for the government to collect data on kids' height and weight. across the UK. But it's been reframed as this sort of health intervention over recent years as the, you know, the rhetoric around, you know, the O word, obesity, which I don't use that word in my work, but that's the word that we'll see, we'll see in here in the media.As that kind of rhetoric has really got more aggressive then the argument for the NCMP has been that, like, this is a positive thing for our children's health and it's really important and…it's a totally politicised programme.Laura Thomas: Yeah, and so for people who aren't in England, reception is, sort of, I guess the equivalent of like kindergarten or primary one if you're in Scotland, where those kids are four turning five years old. So they're really little still. And then the other thing that I think is important to point out is that year six kids are sort of around that 10,11 mark and their bodies might be preparing for and getting ready to go through puberty or might already be starting the process of puberty. And that is something that is not factored into the sort of the BMI equation and the feedback that is given to parents. And that, that's kind of another piece of this story as well, isn't it, Molly, that the introduction in 2012 of what is colloquially known as the obesity report. And of course, I don't use that word either, but that's the terminology that families will hear. And so basically, the NCMP transitioned from being just a very objective measure of, you know, population changes over time to something that that offers direct feedback, but also in a way that can be stigmatising and judgmental and really upsetting for for families to receive, which we will talk a bit about in a minute.But can you, like, get us into the government's mindset, if you can, around this programme? Why do they think that this is a helpful exercise to put kids through to weigh them in schools, you know, around their peers, with no kind of like real measure of their health, just looking at you know, what we know to be sort of a bullshit measure of their relationship with gravity, their body's relationship with gravity,Molly Forbes: There's the public reasoning and then there's, like, the real reasoning. Actually like we could just cut out all of the waffle around the public reasoning, which is what they'll say that actually, it's good for kids health. It's important that we know what you know, the trends are when it comes to height and weight. It helps us make public policy decisions. It's really important that we have this data. But we could actually just cut all of that out and actually get to the heart of the matter, which is it's all about money. So previously, like back in the day, many schools would have had a school nurse and that nurse would have been like on site and been the person that, you know, if the kids had a tummy ache, they go and see the school nurse, the school nurse would have done like head lice checking. They would have done health education with the kids in terms of like that kind of public health education piece and they would have been like, quite a key part of the school environment just in the way that like the teachers were.And the role of the school nurse was… the focus was really on that holistic kind of health and thinking about health in a holistic way. It's really expensive to do that. So what's kind of happened over the years is the NCMP has been brought in as almost a way to kind of replace that sort of holistic school nurse approach.Now, what you need to know about the NCMP is that many people delivering the NCMP aren't actually school nurses. They work for local authorities and they work in the health team. So they work in the school nursing teams but they're healthcare assistants. They don't have the training and the expertise that a school nurse has.It's not the schools that, that take the measurements. What will happen is the outside teams will come into the school on a pre-organised and agreed day of the year, if the school agreed to it, and the children will basically be lined up and it'd probably be in the school hall or in a separate classroom.And one by one the children will go in and they'll stand on a scale and they'll have their height and their weight measured and they'll probably get a sticker and they'll go back out into the classroom. And the people who are actually taking those measurements are, nine times out of ten, not school nurses, they are healthcare assistants.Now that is so much cheaper to run than having a school nurse who's on site in a school who's actually going in and like teaching kids about like personal hygiene maybe or being there, like if a kid has a tummy ache or like they fall over in the playground, like having someone who's got that level of expertise to actually treat the child on site. It's expensive to, to run that kind of programme and it's much, much cheaper – even though the NCMP costs loads of money – it's much cheaper as a form of public health policy programming than actually having like dedicated school nurses who actually like proper teams who come in and do like proper impactful work with kids and with schools. And so what's happening is the NCMP – which it is a data collection exercise, it's being reframed as a health check – and so lots of parents are then worried about opting out because they think, well, it's a health check. Just the same way that, like, your child's two year check with their health visitor is a health check. People think it's the same thing. And it's really important to know that it is not the same thing. It is absolutely not the same thing.Laura Thomas: And I think I've seen definitely in the sort of the template letters that the government has for schools to use and local authorities to send out to parents about it. The way that it's framed is very much as not just as a, an exercise in health, but also it's framed as being…they don't go as far as to say that it's mandatory, but they give the impression that it's you know, quite a critical check, almost like, like you say, the two year checkup.So tell me a bit more about how that government narrative compares and contrasts with what you see at Body Happy Org and what other researchers and advocates are saying about this programme.Maybe you'll get into this, but you know, it's something that, that really strikes me again in that literature that they, I say literature, but you know what I mean? Like the template letters that they send home to schools…is one of the things that they say very clearly is that there's no negative impact whatsoever of this programme and they claim to have tested that.  But I don't think that…well, I know that's not the full story because I've written about it and I know you know that's not the full story. So can you kind of, like, fill us in on maybe some of the things that is, is less transparent in the communications from people administering this programme?Molly Forbes: Yeah. In 2021, the Women and Equalities Committee released the Body Image Report, and one of their key recommendations was to urgently reassess the NCMP, National Child Measurement programme. And the government's response to that was that they had absolutely no intention of urgently assessing it. In fact, they wanted to double down on it. And, and get teams in and do even more weighing and even more measuring of kids.Now, we created this information pack around the NCMP so parents could actually make a fully informed decision. And we work with Anybody UK, the charity on that pack, it was like a collaborative piece of work that we did together. And they gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee as part of that initial report. And what's really interesting is in the rebuffal that the government kind of provided, they cited a study from 2008. And this is often the one that's kind of cited, that found that actually, according to this study…so they basically looked at London schools, and they said that, well, actually, it doesn't cause any issues and, and in some cases, you know, children actually really enjoyed it.Now what's really interesting and important to know about that study is that it was, first of all, it was an opt in study. So parents opted in to get their children weighed. They chose to put their children forward for this. The NCMP is an opt out situation. So unless you actively opt out, your children will get weighed.So already you've got to think, right, who are the people who are opting their children in? So perhaps if a parent thinks that their child is more likely to get, you know, a gold star and be in that healthy weight range category. they're probably less bothered about their child being weighed because they're going to feel like their parenting is validated because their child's body size is fitted, fitting the size that society is telling them that they should fit.So already, like, we can assume that like you know, who are the families, what's the weight range of the children who are going to be measured as part of that study. But the other thing to know is that actually that study did find that children who were found to be in the quote unquote overweight range, their parents were more likely to then follow that up by putting them on a restrictive diet.Laura Thomas: So the research that the government themselves are citing is contradicting the claims that the government are making.Molly Forbes: Well, the claims that the government are making is that actually that's a positive thing and that that's a healthy kind of outcome. So basically what they're saying is that, um that whole study was conducted through the lens of like, you know, healthy weight.  And so essentially, if fat kids get put on a diet, or if some fat kids are harmed in the process, then that's a necessary evil, or it almost doesn't matter.Laura Thomas: Right. Fat kids are fair game for being collateral damage.Molly Forbes: Yeah, completely. Exactly that. And they, they didn't look at it through a lens of how it might impact a fat child, or a child who's, who for whatever reason is more likely, is less likely to come out in that like healthy weight, weight range category that we know is like so flawed anyway.Laura Thomas: Mm hmm.Molly Forbes: So that's their like big study that they cite that's like, oh, there's nothing wrong with it. Most children even enjoyed it, but actually they weren't looking at it. They were looking at it from completely the wrong lens and actually there is so much other evidence to show that weighing children in schools is actually really harmful and the potential for causing harm is massive on so many different levels but the government just basically chose that one study and just keep citing it over and over again as their response and like almost basically refusing to look at the other evidence.Even when it was literally handed to them on a plate as part of that report. Laura Thomas: Yeah. So tell us a little bit more about the harm. So what kind of things do you think are the sort of the fallout from a programme like this?Molly Forbes: Yeah. I guess you can break it down into like two areas. So you can look at the individual harms and the individual child. And then you can look at the, the bigger piece, which is the kind of,  the more like the systemic factors and like the culture piece and the environmental piece, which is what we're kind of interested in at Body Happy.So from like an individual level…by the government's own admission, it's more likely that, that if a child comes home with a letter saying that they're not in the healthy weight range, that they're in the quote unquote overweight range or obese range, that their child will put them on a diet.Now that's really dangerous. I think if someone's listening to this podcast by now, they probably will have done the work to understand why diets are harmful. But it's particularly harmful. Like these are children that we're talking about. We're talking about children who are, you know, four and five, you know, who actually…I mean, you can speak to the health risks of putting a child of that age on a restrictive diet. But then also we're talking about children who are 10 and 11, whose bodies are changing and are going through puberty, which is again, I mean, it's not good to put any kids on diets, but these are two ages when you definitely, definitely do not want to put kids on diets.You can probably speak a bit more about that in terms of like that individual impact.Laura Thomas: Yeah. I think, I mean, the piece around kids, we talked about it before, you know, around 10, 11, preparing to go through puberty, that is one point in time where children are most vulnerable to the development of eating disorders, body image disturbance, low body esteem, which can become a risk factor for things like self harm, anxiety, depression.I mean, it's kind of a chicken and the egg sort of situation in terms of the research, but we know that those things track, you know, where we see dieting and disordered behaviors, there is a strong correlation with poor mental health outcomes.  And then there's the fact that those kids, like, literally need to be growing and gaining weight and, and then the thing that their bodies are supposed to do is the exact thing that we're trying to stop them from doing. That can cause all kinds of problems in terms of their development.I've written a little bit about the risk factors of, or the risks associated with putting children on a diet. So I will link back to that post and, for people who, who maybe are newer around here and, and want to unpack that  a little bit more, but maybe you could say more about the systemic piece, the broader piece that you're focused on at Body Happy. Molly Forbes: Yeah. So we're working really hard to help children know that all bodies are good bodies and all bodies are worthy bodies. And we're working really hard to kind of create cultures in schools that celebrate all bodies and celebrate body diversity and allow children to see themselves as more than their bodies.And that actually, we should treat everyone with respect and dignity, like regardless of what anyone looks like, and we know that, like, weight based teasing and bullying is the most common form of bullying in the playground, like the World Health Organisation have found that.And on the one hand, if we're saying to children, oh, don't, don't do that. Like that's not very kind to, like, tease and, and bully someone for the way they look. But then on the other hand, we're weighing them in school and we're sending letters home saying your body is wrong. That's essentially what we're saying, your body is wrong. So it basically gives the green light for that kind of behaviour. And it also…at any opportunity for body neutrality in a setting where we are literally creating body hierarchies and upholding these hierarchies by weighing children in school is one way, you know. Also the way that we approach, you know, quote unquote healthy eating education, the way that we talk about food and bodies, the way that we deal with appearance based bullying.But weighing in children in schools is like one way that we uphold these body hierarchies. So actually, it literally undermines everything that we're trying to achieve at Body Happy Org. We're trying to create these spaces that celebrate body diversity, celebrate differences, have a real, much more of a focus on, like, body neutrality and health behaviours as separate to… you know, as one part of health, but also separated from weight. So we're trying to teach kids that you can't tell how healthy someone is by looking at them. And even if you could, it shouldn't change the way that you treat that person. Yet we're also weighing them in school and sending a letter home saying you're unhealthy, right, now what's the impact of that? You're going to go and be put on a diet or you're going to be, you know, your parents going to… feel that's a risk. You know, the letter doesn't necessarily say. put your child on a diet…Laura Thomas: Well, it kind of does because it sends people to the Change for Life website or whatever it's called now. I forget, but it basically, it says, if you've received one of those letters, go here, you go there and it says, encourage your child to eat less and move more. And there are so many, I mean, that's problematic in and of itself, but there are so many assumptions baked into that, right? Encourage your child to eat more fruit and vegetables. Well, you don't know how many fruit and vegetables my child is eating. You don't know how active they are. You don't know, you know, what other health concerns they have. You don't know what other, you know, the socio political cultural circumstances that that child's body is, you know, contained within, that all have a bearing on their, their, their body weight.So to just sort of put it down to the, the old calories in calories out equation is…I mean, this is slightly tangent, but it's just, I guess, to me, it's just ratifying anti-fat bias and saying, yeah…it's like you said before, it's creating this disconnect between wanting to create a place of safety for our children, which, you know, schools should be a place of safety, but there's this really violent practice that we're continuing to subject our children to on this other side.And it's just like, yeah, the mixed messages and the head fuck for that child is overwhelming.Molly Forbes: And it's, it's really insidious. So what was happening prior to 2012 is that kids were basically being weighed and the parents weren't receiving…they didn't get any feedback –they call it feedback – and they didn't get a letter home. And so now after 2012, they started sending this letter home.And the parents will receive or the caregiver will receive a letter saying that if your child is in the, one of the basically not the healthy weight category, the parent will be told that and then they'll, as you say, either they'll be directed to like another website, more information. In some areas, they will also be then… Laura Thomas: Referred. Yeah.Molly Forbes: Ttheir details will be passed on to the weight management team or the healthy weight team or whatever they call it, weight management services.And the parent might be contacted and said, you know, do you want to sign your, your kid up? And, you know, I, I sort of jokingly said, oH they're not explicitly saying, put your kid on a diet, but actually what is happening in some areas is that the child is being referred to a weight management service, such as Slimming World.You know, if that's not a diet, what is? So actually, yeah, you're right. That is what's happening. And so that's kind of harmful on an individual level, but we know that, like, kids display anti-fat bias right from like the age of three.Yeah. So, actually, kids know that there is a good and a bad weight that they don't want to be. They know right from early that they're getting these messages. They believe that, you know, that fat is bad and thin is good. And they get these messages from so many different places. And these messages are upheld often by their teachers and perhaps their parents and the family members, people around, by society at large.And so if they're then going into that room to be weighed, you know, if a child, particularly a child who has a fat body has already probably received lots of negative messages about their body, they know that like, as they step on the scales, they're potentially going to, you know, quote unquote, fail the exam.And what's the outcome of that going to be? And the thin kids know as well. It just upholds these ideas that there are good bodies and bad bodies and it literally gives the green light to bullying in the setting and it also gives the green light to kind of these unsaid judgments and bias and microaggressions to just continually happen in the setting.And it's really harmful for all children. It's not just harmful for children who are going to get a letter home. That kind ofatmosphere, it doesn't support any child to have a positive relationship, either with their own body or with the bodies around them. It's completely counterproductive.And that's important. It's important because we know that kids who have,  you know, a better relationship with their body are generally happier on the long term, healthier. However, you want to kind of categorise that like really loaded word of health. You know, more likely to have better self esteem, less likely to be at risk and vulnerable of, like, eating issues, other mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression.But also – like those are all individual things – but on a whole, like for me, it's just how we raise children to treat other kids, you know, and this programme is counterproductive to that. And the other piece, and this is the thing that I don't often talk about, but there is also a toll on the adults as well. There's a toll on the parents who are receiving the letter.Laura Thomas: Absolutely.Molly Forbes: There's a toll on the teachers. So many teachers, we've got teachers in our team and they hate it.They hate it on school weighing days, like literally keeps them up at night. They get so upset knowing that their children are being lined up going in and it can be so triggering because they might have their own experiences and bad memories of these kind of things happening when they were at school.And actually many of the people who have to carry out this programme don't like it, you know, it's one part of their job, but I hear from many people who have to do this that don't enjoy it. They don't like it. They know of the…Laura Thomas: Harms. Yeah.Molly Forbes: It's just not fair on anyone.Laura Thomas: So, let's talk about maybe some logistics here in terms of how the programme is conducted, because parents have a choice. Teachers, to some extent, have a choice and schools have a choice, and I don't think that we talk about that part enough. I think you've done a really lovely job of laying out the harms here but I think it's really important to, to help parents figure out how to navigate this. So what, what happens in schools, right? Will parents get a letter? Will they know that this is happening and what can they do with that information? And I know that this is also nuanced because it, it varies by local authority to local authority and school to school. So yeah, as best as you can, can you kind of help us understand what to expect?Molly Forbes: Yeah. So what should happen and the advice for how local authorities and nursing teams need to be delivering this program is that what should happen is that they contact the school and they say, hey, can we come in and, and measure the kids? And the school…the school at that point does have a choice, the school are allowed to say no. And many schools don't know this, but they are allowed to and they do have a choice.Laura Thomas: And who's that up to? Is that up to the head teacher?Molly Forbes: Yeah. So, the head teacher, but often there'll be like a governing body as well. And also schools are often nowadays they're part of like a federation or trust so there'll be other schools. So, it might be that there's a CEO of that federation and so it goes up, you know, higher and higher to who is able to make that decision.It is a big deal. It's scary for schools to say no because the local authorities get so much funding for delivering this programme that they put a huge amount of pressure on schools to kind of let them in. So often schools feel like it's a mandatory thing and they can't say no, but what if there are any teachers listening to this is actually, you can say no.Laura Thomas: It's within your power?Molly Forbes: Yeah. When I was creating this pack that…she now volunteers for Anybody UK, but someone on that team who wasn't on the team when we were creating this, she is a school governor and she's been helping her school in London opt out of it. And there's been a whole process. They've had to have meetings with parents. They've had to do, like conduct surveys. They've had to go through like various processes with the governors. But, I believe that they are on the way to opting out of it. So what happens then is that say, for example, the school let them in, which nine times out of 10, they will, then two weeks prior to the team coming in to take the measurements and collect the data they should and, and will send home a letter.But it's coming not from the school. It's really important to know it's not the school. It's not your kids' teachers who are taking these measurements. It's not them who are, although they're the ones who are communicating with you, if there are any like fuck ups and a child is opted out and then still gets weighed, which can sometimes happen. Like ultimately it's not the teachers who are taking this data.Y eah, so the school will send a letter home, or the local authority will send a letter home via the school saying this is happening on this date, and if you want to opt out, then you can either do this. So sometimes there'll be a form,  if they want to make it super easy, there'll be a form. And so you can like fill in the form and just say, I don't give consent. What's increasingly happening is that they're making it harder and harder, making you jump through like multiple hoops.So it might be that you have to ring a phone number, and it might be that when you ring that number, no one answers. Or that you leave a voicemail message and that, you know, and you're having to keep doing that. And I know that as a parent who works full time, that's a nightmare to have to do.Laura Thomas: It's such a pain. Yeah.Molly Forbes: It's such a pain and it's just life admin that no one has time for. I feel like that's not accidental, you know. I may, maybe I'm being cynical, but it feels to me like that's not an accidental choice to make it harder for parents to opt out. And then what should happen is, on the day that the measurements are taking place, the kids who are going to be measured are, like, lined up, and they're sent on through, and they, they have the measurements, and the kids who aren't are basically, like, kept separate, and they don't get sent through, and, and they won't be measured.Laura Thomas: So they can like stay in the classroom or whatever.Molly Forbes: Yeah, exactly. And,  what should also happen is that kids… when the kids are getting measured, they don't see the measurement on the scale so that they, they don't see what the measurements are and they are measured on their own. So it's not happening like in a public, in front of the whole class. Laura Thomas: That's true. But I just want to say that there's a lot of research that suggests that either school nurses or healthcare assistants will report back what the child's weight is depending on, you know, or tell them the category that they fall in. And so it's not as sort of taped off as it sounds like it might be and also kids can look! They can just look, right. Like there's nothing to prevent them from just checking the number. I mean, maybe not the four and five year olds are going to have a harder time with it, but certainly by year six, they can look. And I think the other sort of fallacy that I hear is that, you know, it's all contained within that moment that they get measured, but there's also reports that children will go out and compare their weights in the playground. And I think that's where that bullying, teasing risk kind of comes in, that you talked about before.Molly Forbes: That's what should happen. And that's what in like the best practice kind of how to run the programme they say should happen. But I know anecdotally that that doesn't always happen. So I know anecdotally that there are some children that will be opted out and the parents will opted them out, but the child still gets weighed.Because, you know, accidents are happening. Everyone's overworked. The teachers are stressed and overworked. The nurses are stressed and overworked. There's a lot of children coming through that they have to get all this data. I also know anecdotally, I've heard from parents where the children have overheard their weight being discussed in front of them in their earshot.And I've heard from parents where the children have, as you say, then discussed their weights with, with their peers. So although that's kind of the best practice way of happening and, and that's what they say should happen, it isn't always, no, it's run by humans and there's always room for human error to happen.Laura Thomas: Sure.Molly Forbes: And then afterwards, once they've kind of processed that data, that's when they will send a letter home. Now, it's also important to know that the letter home part of the programme is not mandatory. So the programme is a mandatory programme that the local authorities have to deliver, but that's the local authorities that have to deliver it. The schools don't. They are not mandated to allow the programme to happen in their school. So although the local authority, which effectively runs the schools, is mandated to do that, the schools do have some autonomy. And also the local authorities are not mandated to then provide the feedback. The feedback is an optional added extra part of the programme. And again, I think many, many places don't realise that. And there have been some pilot studies and some trials in some areas where they've looked at what happens if we don't send that feedback letter. And that's really promising, but also there have been some other trials looking at what happens if we ramp up and we just go all in and we double down.And along with that feedback letter, we also include a diagram, which shows children with a different range of bodies, like on a scale from thin to fat. And we like put a big red circle around the body that that child's weight falls into and what then, what will happen if we do that, will the parents be even more likely to quote unquote, take it seriously and do something about their child's weight.So there are two things happening and, depending on, you know, who's running it, kind of depends on what happens. Within that whole framework, there are things that the schools can do to, like, minimise some of the potential harms. First of all, just letting parents know that they can opt out, I think is really important. And second of all, just letting parents know about the information so they can make an informed decision. Because like, if you get like ten forms come home about, you know, there's a school trip happening next week. Oh, by the way, this is our lunchbox policy. Oh, by the way, your kid's being measured and here's the homework that we're doing. Like, it's just going to easily get lost. Whereas if the schools make it really clear to the parents like, okay, this is happening. And this is the letter that we have to send to you. And in this letter, it will say there are no…that studies show there are no adverse impacts of, like, this, this programme. If they could also just link to the Body Happy Org and Anybody UK information pack that would at least give parents enough information to make, you know, know the full story.Laura Thomas: Yeah, and I think just on that on that piece of like all these letters going home and things getting confused and I think like another thing that I've heard happening is just kids opening the letter themselves because again, if you're like 10, 11, you're like, oh, what's this? I want to have a look.And they're reading You know, your child is quote overweight or quote obese and what like the impact that that that can have, it's not even, you know, filtered through the lens of a parent who might be able to be like, well, fuck this, this is rubbish and just, you know, get rid of it, which I know a lot of parents do because they're..they feel like, like you said before, like it's an indictment of their parenting.But yeah, like what happens when that falls into the hands of, you know, a preteen who is really vulnerable to it. So I just, I wanted to make that that point there as well. Like, so just to kind of wrap up, can you tell us a bit more about the… is there anything else you want to say about the process of opting out or, you know, how to, like, any tips for parents to make sure that if you have opted out that you've really opted out?Molly Forbes: Yeah. So I think one thing that I definitely hear the most and one of the biggest pieces of resistance of opting out is that parents are really worried that their child is going to feel left out. Particularly the little ones, like they get a sticker and they get a sticker and like, who doesn't love a sticker?And so like their mates are all coming back into the classroom saying like, I'm, I'm good. I've got a sticker and they're on their own and they just feel left out. And that's a totally  valid and, and natural thing to worry about as a parent. Like what parent wants their kid to be left out and in the class not getting a sticker.Laura Thomas: So side note, at preschool, they give a stamp on the hand for good behaviour. Good behaviour apparently includes eating all your lunch. So my kid...never gets a stamp. So I've just bought a stamp and I've been stamping him and reminding him that you, that he's the boss of his body and it's up to him how much he eats and yes, trying to get away from that behaviourism.But anyway, that's a little detour. We'll come back to...Molly Forbes: I would love you to give him the stamp so that he can go into the playground and just be like….Laura Thomas: Yeah, stamping everyone,Molly Forbes: Yeah, everyone should get a stamp.Laura Thomas: But challenging the school's behavioural policies is for another, another time. But, yeah, so there is that concern that parents have that their parents, that their kids might feel, like left out or sort of singled out for something. So how, what would you say to that?Molly Forbes: Yeah. And the other part of that point as well is that it's really natural if you are the parent of a fat child and you know that you're more likely to get a letter home, it's probably really natural that you would want to opt your kid out but then it's also a very natural concern to be like, do I want to highlight, make my kid even more of a target and have them the only child in the class that is not opted out?Like, will that make that? So there's a sense of safety there. And I think it's really important to understand like it's very difficult.Laura Thomas: That's such an important point. Yeah, I'm glad that you raised that.Molly Forbes: But, but what I think is also really important to note that actually, the more people who are aware that you can opt out and the more people who opt out, then the less chance we have of these kids being in these situations where they're the only one.And actually, a couple of weeks ago I heard from a parent who's,  she shared the NCMP information pack from Body Happy Org and Anybody UK in her class WhatsApp group. Her daughter's in year six and her daughter came home a couple of weeks ago, and they'd been in and they'd had all the weights, the NCMP team had been in and over half the class had opted out.Laura Thomas: Wow, that's…I thought you were going to say like five kids! That's incredible.Molly Forbes: No, over half the class opted out. So. The more people who are opting out, the more other people who are going to opt out. And actually so many people don't know about this. So even if it's just a case of like forwarding this podcast episodet or mates at school and toyour parent mates and being like, Oh, Hey, did you know, do you know about this? And like having a conversation with people about it, the more chances you have of like other people also opting their children out.Laura Thomas: And I think if you're in any parenting groups, if you're in any school groups, even if your child, you know, even if your child isn't in reception or year six, can you spread the word to parents whose kids are going to be impacted in that year. So even if it feels like it doesn't directly impact you…like last year, I remember sending your pack and the, some articles that I had written as well to like health WhatsApp groups and things that I'm involved in just to kind of help spread that word because I think the more of us that are talking about these issues, the more wider reaching impact that we will have.Molly Forbes: Yeah, absolutely. A hundred percent. And I think also if your child's older, if they're in that year six kind of age group, it's also a really good opportunity to make them part of the conversation. And that's what I did with my eldest daughter. And I said like, this thing is happening and this is why I want to opt you out of it. And what do you think about it? And I think, like, at that age, they are able if, especially if you've already kind of like done the groundwork for the way that you talk about bodies at home. And hey, you know how your school still does it the old way where they stamped kids who've had like a clean plate, you know, and it's like these are the old way. And we don't do that at home. This is happening. And I don't, I don't feel comfortable about you being weighed. And I want you to like, how are you feeling? How would you feel about that? And I think like making kids be kind of part of that conversation at that age can actually be a positive way to then raise little mini advocates who, like, who are activists who literally the future generation who are going to go out and like challenge some of this stuff.Laura Thomas: And how might you approach that conversation with a younger child, do you think? Because I think you can talk about this with a four and, I mean, I know you can talk about this with a four and five year old. So, but, but how, I mean, what might that sound like? Do you think?Molly Forbes: So I think  it would sound like, like focusing on the practical stuff first. So the fact that some of your class today, some of your class might be weighed, and that means standing on a scale, you know, if you don't have scales in your house, like we don't,  it would be kind of a, a bit of a age appropriate explanation about what a scale is and, and why, you know, in our house, you know how we know that all bodies are good bodies, maybe using a picture book, you know, like that lovely Tyler Feder Bodies Are Cool book to like have that kind of conversation.  Or, you know,  the book Big, which is like the latest one that I really love as well. To kind of talk about how, how might it make children who…even if your child has a thin or straight sized body, like getting them at age four and five to think about, you know, actually how might other children feel, you know, being weighed, you know. In the same way that we have those conversations about like, how my daddy pig feel when Peppa pig is mean about his body and always makes his body the punchline of the joke, you can start to have those conversations with little kids and encourage them to kind of grow their empathy skills and think about how other people might be impacted by something.And then I think like, if you have opted them out, just kind of making them aware that this thing might be happening today and some of your class might be going out the classroom and they might come back and they might have stickers. So maybe like being prepared and sending your kid to school with a sticker.Laura Thomas: But not just any sticker, Molly!Molly Forbes: Oh yeah, the Body Happy stickers. We've got some new Body Happy stickers!Laura Thomas: Teed you right up for that.Molly Forbes: I nearly missed that one. Yeah, like just making sure that they've got something to make them feel, you know, special. And then like having a conversation with the teacher and saying. Hey, did you know that there's this resource? I know it's probably too late for you to send it around the school, this information pack, because we've already received the letter, but, it is still worth reading because there is advice in there about how you as a school can manage it and how you as a teacher can manage it. And like maybe bookmark this weighing day with like some positive activities and making sure that like all the kids have a sticker. Like I'm very big on the stickers. I feel really sad for the kids that don't get it.Laura Thomas: Can, can you do bulk orders of the stickers for teachers to have in their classroom?Molly Forbes: yeah,Laura Thomas: Do a little teacher discount.Molly Forbes: Oh yeah, we need to get funding so we can send all the schools a sticker pack. But yeah, I feel like that there are so many things that that can be done, so that even if this programme is happening, that we're kind of mitigating at least some of the potential harms of it.Ultimately, I don't want the programme to exist, but I'm not a lobbyist.  and we have to be really aware at Body Happy Org that, actually, you know, we're in a difficult situation because if we, if we were to start lobbying on this and actually actively kind of campaigning against this programme, that could put us at risk of like not being invited into schools to do our really important workshops at this because it's like recent government changes in terms of advice for who schools can invite in to like run sessions with their kids.So what I want to do is…I just want parents and schools to be aware of all of the various different elements and nuances so that they can make an informed decision. And even if they do decide to allow it to go ahead to at least, at the very least do some of these things around it to mitigate some of its potential harms.Laura Thomas: Oh, Molly, I so appreciate you coming and kind of unpacking all of that. Cause yeah, there's, there's some nuance to this conversation, right? I was just thinking to myself, well, if enough people opt out. Then maybe schools will get the message that actually, we don't want this programme and the whole schools will start to opt out.But then there's also a real risk that the government will, you know, slide in some other legislation that makes it mandatory to participate in these programmes. So, you know, I think, yeah, we're sort of bouncing on a knife edge with this stuff and, and, I guess what we're saying is we have to be conscious of potential unintended consequences, both of participating in the programme, but also from opting our kids out as well.Molly Forbes: Yeah.Laura Thomas: Oh, thank you, Molly, for the just relentless work that you and Body Happy Org are doing,  around this issue.So real quick at the end of every episode, my guest and I share something that they have been snacking on. So it could be anything, a show, a podcast, a literal snack, whatever. So what have you been snacking on lately?Molly Forbes: So I'm going to say a holiday. So this is, this is coming out in September and I will have just come back from France and spending five weeks in France. My favorite thing about holiday is…one of my favorite things is like the supermarkets and I love….Laura Thomas: Like foreign supermarkets are so much fun.Molly Forbes: Especially like French supermarkets are just the best like, oh my gosh, like the cheese. I'm such a cheese fan and I love like just walking down the cheese aisle and just seeing like, oh my gosh…..Laura Thomas: Supermarket sweeping the whole like aisleMolly Forbes: And my favorite thing is like on a holiday, what I really love is the fact that you don't have to meal plan, like, we don't…I absolutely love being able to say, oh, hey guys, what should we have for dinner tonight. I don't have to like do a whole shop and think like, you know, days ahead of, like, what the meal plan is just, we're going to eat whatever we fancy. In this…what should we have for lunch right now?Right. It's not like a packed lunch that's been packed the night before. That kind of being able to be spontaneous with food and like really brings for me as a mum who's busy working and like the mental load and same like with my partner, my husband, like both of us, like get so bored of doing the meal planning and we just like, it brings the joy back into food.Laura Thomas: Yeah.Molly Forbes: Over the, over the summer. So I'm going to say like French supermarkets and also a literal snack. I love goat's cheese and I love, you know, like that time in the day when you're on holiday, when you've just like spent the day out, maybe you've been swimming, maybe you've been on a bike ride, you've been out in the sun and you come home and, or wherever we're camping, so you go and have a shower.And you're all like lovely and clean and fresh and then you sit down and it's like just that period before dinner when you're sitting down and I love like a snack at that point whether that is…well my favourite is goat's cheese but like the hard goat's cheese that you chop up into like bits with like those little mini cornichon pickles, like a little bit of goat's cheese with like a little bit of one of those pickles it's just like mmm I love that.Laura Thomas: Okay, you're making me hungry and I also want to come on a holiday with you, so pack me in your suitcase.Alright, so my snack is a book. It's a complete gear shift from what we've just been talking about. It's a book called Radical Intimacy. It's by Sophie K. Rosa. And I think... The title Radical Intimacy is a little bit misleading because it's not really…like it does talk about romantic relationships, but,  the main sort of thesis is talking about how capitalism infiltrates all different aspects of our life, everything from, like, our interpersonal relationships, what counts as a relationship, who counts as a relationship, how we kind of hierarchicalise our relationships for want of a better word. Like our, our families, our family life, and you know, everything like just…it's really an interesting exploration of some of these, the ways that,  capitalism infiltrates our lives, but also kind of about reimagining something different, something more expansive and, yeah, I'm really here for it.So I will link to that, and I'm also going to link to your NCMP pack, which really, I'm just asking everyone listening to forward it on your WhatsApp groups through email, like share it if you're on a school PTA or like a,  what's it called? Like the governance?Molly Forbes: If you're a governor.Laura Thomas: Yeah. Please, a teacher, like, please take it really seriously.I think what I heard Molly says there's a lot of red tape to opt out, whether it's opting out your child or opting out a whole school, but, you know, you could be laying the groundwork for that for, you know, maybe beyond when your child is even at that school, but I think that's a really worthwhile endeavour.Molly, can you tell us all really quickly where we can find out more about you and your work?Molly Forbes: So the Body Happy Org website is www.bodyhappyorg.com. And we are also Body Happy Org on Instagram. And I am MollyJForbes. Molly with a Y, on Instagram and I'm also really enjoying Threads. That's a whole other conversation. I don't really hang out on Twitter so much. I'm on Twitter, but I don't really hang out there as much, but yeah, probably the website and it's got all of our emails and all of that stuff there as well.Laura Thomas: Well, I'll link to everything in the show notes so people can find you. Thank you so much, Molly.Molly Forbes: Thank you.OUTROLaura Thomas: Thanks so much for listening to the Can I Have Another Snack? podcast. You can support the show by subscribing in your podcast player and leaving a rating and review. And if you want to support the show further and get full access to the Can I Have Another Snack? universe, you can become a paid subscriber.It's just £5 a month or £50 for the year. As well as getting tons of cool perks you help make this work sustainable and we couldn't do it without the support of paying subscribers. Head to laurathomas.substack.com to learn more and sign up today.  Can I Have Another Snack? is hosted by me, Laura Thomas. Our sound engineer is Lucy Dearlove. Fiona Bray formats and schedules all of our posts and makes sure that they're out on time every week. Our funky artwork is by Caitlin Preyser, and the music is by Jason Barkhouse. Thanks so much for listening.ICYMI this week: Rapid Response: Actually, Maybe Don't Say That to Your Kid* Reclaiming our Appetites* Rapid Response: Why I don't like ‘this food does a little/this food does a lot'* Dear Laura: I'm freaking out about what my kids eat - but is it really about them? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurathomas.substack.com/subscribe

The A Better HR Business podcast looks at how consultants and tech firms in the broad Human Resources field grow their businesses; and how they help employers get the best out of their people. Today we're joined on the show by Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, a Community Interest Company aiming to make work better for everyone. Prior to leading Investors in People (IIP), Paul was a Director at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, an executive non-departmental body that offers guidance on skills and employment issues in the UK. He led the development and implementation of strategic programmes to create sustainable skills solutions with joint investment from industry and government. Paul studied Human Resource Management, graduating in 1994. He is a Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. In 2016, Paul led the buyout of IIP from the UK Government and the organisation is now a Community Interest Company. Investors in People works with over 10,000 organisations, providing digital diagnostic tools, advice, support and assessment against their internationally recognised Frameworks. Their network of 350 skilled and experienced Consultants work with organisations across 70 countries, but predominantly in the UK. In a wide-ranging discussion, Paul and I talked about: ☑️ Investors in People's (IIP) mission and how being a community interest company contributes to making work better for millions of people. ☑️ The importance of coaching conversations and performance conversations in the workplace. ☑️ Why the lack of proper manager training impacts productivity and employee well-being. ☑️ How will impact society IIP's goal to have 1 in 10 people in the UK work for an investors and people organization. ☑️ And much more! Thanks, Paul! For show notes and to see details of my previous guests, check out the podcast page here: www.GetMoreHRClients.com/Podcast WANT MORE CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS? Want more clients for your HR-related consultancy or HR Tech business? Check out: www.GetMoreHRClients.com/Services. WANT TO START AN HR BUSINESS? Want to launch your own consulting business in the broad Human Resources sector? Check out: www.GetMoreHRClients.com/Start for resources.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kerry Tottingham, an incredible social entrepreneur who has embarked on a transformative journey from being an artist to becoming an expert in fundraising and creating systems change. Kerry's story is truly inspiring, and she shared with us her remarkable insights and experiences. Kerry's work with A Brilliant Thing CIC involves collaborating with public sector teams, charities, and communities to tackle significant social challenges. By bringing together different stakeholders and encouraging collective action, she believes in finding collaborative solutions that address these problems effectively. As a leader, Kerry guides individuals and organizations through a design thinking process. By empowering people and shifting power dynamics, she helps organizations develop strategies that genuinely serve and empower those they aim to help.  Key Takeaways from our conversation: Co-producing solutions with the population being impacted is key to creating lasting and meaningful change. The importance of supporting workers within systems and organizations who may face burnout or encounter obstacles.  Addressing critical issues such as leadership and organizational culture, which can hinder progress and prevent teams from achieving their desired outcomes. Join me in this thought-provoking conversation as Kerry Tottingham shares her expertise and insights on creating systems change, promoting equity, and empowering individuals and organizations to make a lasting impact. Don't miss out on the valuable lessons and strategies she offers to help transform organizational culture and drive positive change. About our guest: Kerry Tottingham Kerry Tottingham is co-director of A Brilliant Thing, a Community Interest Company that supports team and organisational development. A Brilliant Thing CIC is focused on connecting strategy and culture, to develop purposeful, valuable teams that produce brilliant results from the inside out. A Brilliant Thing CIC creates awaydays, team development programmes, coaching support and collaborations with charities, public sector teams and companies with social aims. Creativity, wellbeing and social impact are threaded through everything we do. A Brilliant Thing CIC is a family company. Co-directors are Kerry, and her mum Lynn, a senior accredited counsellor (BACP) and 2 sisters Faye, HR and SME Partnerships specialist and Tess, accredited counsellor (BACP) and a lead social prescriber. Kerry is a Chartered Management Institute certified (Level 7) leadership coach and mentor and draws on her experience within Non-Profit sectors, CVS Infrastructure and NHS management, unusually combining this with background in participatory arts to coproduce change.  Contact Kerry Website: https://www.brilliantthing.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrytottingham Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abrilliantthing  JOIN THE SOCIAL IMPACT LEVEL UP COLLECTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:  Subscribe to our ⁠YouTube channel⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@socialimpactlevelup  Get our ⁠newsletter ⁠on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6892164442784632832/  CONNECT WITH WENDIE ⁠Visit this page⁠ to learn about my upcoming social impact masterclasses and events. https://wendieveloz.com/events  Follow Wendie on⁠ Instagram⁠, her handle is ⁠@WendieVeloz⁠ https://www.instagram.com/wendieveloz/ Follow Wendie on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendiev Follow Wendie on ⁠YouTube⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@WendieVeloz RESOURCES FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS We recommend these digital solutions to help grow your social enterprise.  Record or livestream with ⁠StreamYard⁠ https://streamyard.com/pal/4848094874435584  Podcast, video, and audio editing with ⁠Descript⁠ https://www.descript.com/?lmref=iZQnqw  Manage your email list with ⁠Flodesk⁠ https://flodesk.com/c/CS6MM0  *Some of these may be affiliate links. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/social-impact-level-up/support

This week we have back one of our favorite guests here on the CE Pro Podcast, UK-based Together For Cinema founder and industry do-gooder Ian Morrish. This time around, Morrish updates us on Together For Cinema's 2023 children's hospice home theater projects, donations and sponsors, as well as the group's new status as a Community Interest Company, and another big fundraiser event happening in July, in the latest podcast episode.The organization, which Morrish established back in 2009, has been pulling off multiple children's hospice home theater projects across the UK particularly ramping up in the past few years. This year is no different, as the first half of 2023 has been exceedingly busy for Together For Cinema.

In this episode of The Black Country Blokes Mental Health podcast, we are joined by special guest James from Just Straight Talk, a Community Interest Company that provides practical help, support, and motivation to individuals in The Black Country who are disadvantaged and facing barriers. James shares his personal story of overcoming alcohol addiction and how JST's holistic approach helped him on his journey to recovery. Since 2012, JST has worked with over 4,200 individuals with a range of issues, from crisis situations to those needing a helping hand. Their bespoke support is not restricted to certain age groups, and they ensure no one is turned away. Join us as we discuss James' inspiring story and how JST is making a positive impact in the community. #MentalHealthAwareness and #JustStraightTalk.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/bcb. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes, Who Needs Instructions is now a proper thing, a company. We're actually a CIC, which means we're a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company. This episode is all about the Launch Event, which is being held at The Terrace in Exeter on Thursday 27th April, 2023.You can grab a ticket here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-needs-instructions-launch-party-tickets-608688502697

Not a full episode but a quick call for support for Little Green Pigeon Sanctuary. From the Little Green Pigeon Sanctuary website... "We are a Pigeon sanctuary based in Newcastle Emlyn in West Wales. Our on line shop sales go directly towards running the sanctuary (we are a not for profit business - Community Interest Company) and we also have a physical shop in Emlyn itself open Tues, Weds, Fri and Saturday 10am until 3pm.The products we sell are designed in house with love, care and attention to detail, or bought from Vegan or ethically led artists and designers who care about our environment and fellow creatures.Our L.G.P. printing and packaging is VEGAN and our garment suppliers have PETA recognition. " ⁠https://www.littlegreenpigeon.co.uk/collections/friends-of-the-flock-bird-sanctuary-donations⁠ Please support Little Green Pigeon following the devastating storm that struck the sanctuary on April 12th, 2023. The link to support is below: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/littlegreenpigeonstormfund?utm_term=ZKNrZjJ3x If you can support with your time then do get in touch with Sue over at https://www.instagram.com/littlegreenpigeon/

Exciting news! A friend Hugo and I have launched a new Community Interest Company called We Say Play. A Community Interest Company is - in the words of Wikipedia - ‘designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good.' And that's exactly what we want to do! I'd love it if you'd have a listen to this short little podcast to hear about our We Say Play mission to inspire children to get playing…To find out more about We Say Play or to get in touch - we'd love to hear from you - please head to the We Say Play website

In this episode, I chat with Zahra Davidson of Huddlecraft about peer-to-peer learning and how we can learn better together. Zahra is Chief Exec of Huddlecraft. a Community Interest Company who help people and organizations wield the ‘power of peer groups'. Over the next decade, people face the steepest collective learning curve in history. Huddlecraft exists to spark a surge of peer-to-peer learning that can help us climb this curve. There are lots of ways to get involved with Huddlecraft.Join a Huddle: purposeful peer groups that tackle a learning journey together. There are Huddles open around a range of themes locally and globally, from parenting, to going beyond burnout, to reimagining hope. Check them out: huddlecraft.com/huddlesSign up for Huddlecraft 101: a 7 session immersive training that will teach you how to apply the power of peer groups within your own work. The next programme will start in May 2023: huddlecraft.com/101Follow Huddlecraft on socials:Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/enrol-yourselfInstagram https://www.instagram.com/huddle.craft/Twitter https://twitter.com/HuddlecraftIf you can spot a way to collaborate or work together, get in touch with zahra@huddlecraft.comZahra's suggestions for more about peer-to-peer learning:Huddlecraft's ResourcesLiberating StructuresMicrosolidarityThanks for listening to the BLOC! Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiekirby/Or check out what I'm working on over at https://www.getusefulstuff.com/

Ryan joined the Army Foundation College, Harrogate in 2004 and later joined the 4/73 (Sphinx) Special Observation Post Battery Royal Artillery, part of the British Army.  He served for 9 years, reaching the rank of Lance Bombardier (LBdr).In this episode Ryan talks about growing up, joining the British Army via the Army Foundation College and after basic training, what it was like going through the Selection course for 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery - being one of the youngest in history to complete selection and join the elite unit.He also talks about operational tours in Afghanistan and his journey in leaving the British Army.   Ryan also shares transitioning from the Army to work in Iraq as part of a close protection team, and then his transition back to life within the UK, where he managed gyms and became a physical trainer.  He goes on to share his personal struggles with mental health, and the steps he took to control this part of his life, whilst at the same time helping others control theirs.  Lastly, he talks about founding a not-for-profit Community Interest Company called Veteran's Army, where they help veterans and their family.Watch Episode on YouTube:Part 1: youtu.be/Sg86jFIE7ygPart 2: youtu.be/6hTzCq-ayNUTikTok:tiktok.com/@militaryveteranspodcastInstagram:instagram.com/militaryveteranspodcastTwitter:twitter.com/MilVetPodcastLinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/military-veterans-podcastMerchandise:milvetpodcast.com/merchIf you've enjoyed any episode from the show, please head over to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and give the show a 5 star rating. It really will help the show be found by others. Many thanks! Message at the end of the recording is from your host Gav, giving you information on how you can support the show through Patreon.Supporting monthly would help the show record future episodes and help with the upkeep of previous recordings. £5 a month will give you access to bonus recordings, where Gav and the guest chat about things that don't make it into the main recording. Thank you.Support the show

Dr Jennifer Hinton is a Research Fellow at the University of Stockholm, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Schumacher Institute.  She was a Marie Curie PhD Fellow in Stockholm, investigating our Relationship to Profit and how a Not for Profit model of businesses and markets might transform the world.  She's a co-director of the Post Growth Institute and, with Donnie MacLurcan, co-wrote 'How on Earth: Flourishing in a Not-For-Profit world. She is a sustainability researcher, activist and practitioner with a broad range of professional and academic experience. Her work explores the relationships between core aspects of common business structures (including ownership, legal purpose, and profit-orientation) and global sustainability challenges. In doing so, she uses systems analysis methods in order to better understand how dominant business structures in the current economy are driving unsustainable dynamics at the scale of the aggregate economy, and how different business structures might lead to very different dynamics. This highlights pathways for systemic change for a more sustainable economy in the future. Her work is part of an EU-funded program called 'AdaptEconII: Adapting to a New Economic Reality'.In this episode, we explore the natuer of the various Growth vs Degrowth/postgrowth paradigms and how the shift to not-for-profit businesses worldwide could signal a shift to the end of profiteering and a change in the focus of humanity. If we're not simply driving for more profit for shareholders and bigger bonuses for the C-suite, then what can we be for? Can businesses pivot to a world where they actually exist to further the welfare of people and planet?  What would that look like and how would it work? This is one of the keys to a flourishing future. If businesses continue to push for sales growth/profits growth at all costs, then we're finished.  If they can begin to turn the extraordinary creativity that has seen their profits soar, to something worthwhile…then anything is possible.Envisioning a not for profit future: Paper https://nonprofitquarterly.org/envisioning-a-not-for-profit-world-for-a-sustainable-future/Jennifer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-hinton-758a544/Paper: Fit for Purpose: https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/2231/Paper: A Not for Profit Economy for a Regenerative Sustainable World: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359043036_A_Not-For-Profit_Economy_for_a_Regenerative_Sustainable_WorldPaper: Five Key Dimensions of Post Growth Business: Putting the Pieces Together: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351610225_Five_Key_Dimensions_of_Post-Growth_Business_Putting_the_Pieces_TogetherPaper: Relationship to Profit A Theory of Business Markets and Profit for Social Ecological Economics https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348742711_Relationship-to-Profit_A_Theory_of_Business_Markets_and_Profit_for_Social_Ecological_EconomicsGlas Cymru: https://corporate.dwrcymru.com/en/about-us/company-structure/glas-cymruBRAC: http://www.brac.netMyuma: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-myuma-group/about/Book: How on Earth: Flourishing in a Not for Profit World: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.01398Jennifer on Twitter: @HintojenTim Jackson Prosperity without Growth: https://timjackson.org.uk/ecological-economics/pwg/Patagonia going Not For Profit: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/14/patagonias-billionaire-owner-gives-away-company-to-fight-climate-crisis-yvon-chouinard

This week's guest has made it her mission to open up the conversation on mental health in the performing arts. Raffaella Covino has spent the past ten years working on the West End and internationally as a Dance Captain and Swing. She is also the founder and director of applause for thought which offers accessible mental health training and support to people in the performing arts. Raffaella joins Bronwyn on Singing Teachers' Talk to chat about all things mental health and what training you as a singing teacher can get.    KEY TAKEAWAYS After dealing with her own mental health issues, Raffaella found a passion for helping people overcome their mental health struggles. It was as if her eyes had been opened to the signs that someone is struggling and unwilling to talk about it. This led to the creation of Applause for Thought.  Applause for thought was launched on February 3rd 2019 and is now a triple award-winning Community Interest Company that facilitates lower-cost mental health, Support, Talks and Workshops, Accredited Mental Health Training, and Bespoke Consultancy to all those working in the arts and entertainment industry. The mental health practitioners working for Applause for Thought are all aware of the performing arts industry so you don't need to spend your time explaining to them what exactly it is you do. They know and understand the pressures you're under in your role.  The biggest industry specific trigger around mental health is burnout. When you're any kind of freelancer the work doesn't stop and when you're not working, you're trying to find the next thing.   Singing teachers can help and support performers through not just focusing on the skill, singing, but more of a focus on confidence and how our students feel. If you take a whole person approach and build confidence that will build them to be able to deal with the industry.    BEST MOMENTS ‘Mental health wasn't spoken about the way it is now'  ‘Education = Prevention'  ‘Mental health is so tricky because it seems invisible'    EPISODE RESOURCES  BAST Training  Guest Website: www.applauseforthought.com Social Media: Instagram: @applauseforthought Twitter: @ApplauseThought   ABOUT THE GUEST Raffaella Covino is a creative who has spent the last decade working as a Dance Captain/Associate and Swing across the West End, UK and Internationally. She took a year long hiatus from the industry in 2018 as she navigated mental illness, but born out of that experience was the now triple award-winning community interest company Applause for thought.  Since launching in February 2019 with the ethos and mantra 'education equals prevention' at the heart, AFT facilitates lower cost mental health; support, talks and workshops, accredited training and bespoke consultancy to the arts and entertainment industry.   ABOUT THE PODCAST BAST Training is here to help singers gain the knowledge, skills and understanding required to be a great singing teacher. We can help you whether you are getting started or just have some knowledge gaps to fill through our courses and educational events. Website: basttraining.com Get updates to your inbox: Click here for updates from BAST Training Link to presenter's bios: basttraining.com/singing-teachers-talk-podcast-biosSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Simon and Murphy speak to Ishita Ranjan - Senior Project Manager.  This Much We Know is a podcast from Homeless Link looking at the role of social enterprise in the homeless sector, with guest experienced social entrepreneurs and funders sharing their experiences, successes and their failures. Season 3 of This Much We Know our guests are all individuals working for funders and investors in the social enterprise sector. Funded by Access, hosted by Murphy Hopkins-Hubbard, Enterprise and Investment Manager at Homeless link and Simon Pickering, Associate at Homeless Link.  About Good Finance Good Finance is a collaborative project to help improve access to information on social investment for charities and social enterprises. In recognition that social investment can often be confusing and difficult to navigate. In 2016 key representative from social enterprises, charity and social investment sectors came together to launch Good Finance an initiative to help tackle this barrier for social sector organisations. About Spark & Co  Spark and Co. is a Community Interest Company that provides education, information & connection for people in the UK. Their work supports people disproportionately affected by both the Covid-19 crisis and systemic inequality. 

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Rhiane Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike, to talk about how things have been going and where Black Girls Hike is going to go in the future.KEY TAKEAWAYSThe idea behind Black Girls Hike was just me wanting to create a space because I wanted to do something for my wellbeing, like taking up a new hobby. But I'd always been involved in community. Exploration into the countryside has never been something that I've done, I always wanted to live in a city, but as I've got older I've started appreciating the countryside more.I dropped out of uni three times because I didn't really enjoy it and I worked in the civil service and doing volunteering part time so I could get into community work, but I was always really conscious that I wasn't doing enough and I wasn't getting to where I wanted to be in life fast enough and I wasn't reaching certain milestones of ages. That was one of the reasons I started Black Girls Hike, I wanted to do something where I felt like I was using my time wisely for my wellbeing and not thinking about doing anything else.It wasn't supposed to be a brand, it was just the name of the group and it became a brand by itself. At the end of the first year we decided to do Snowdon, and somebody said it'd be a really nice idea to make some medals made, but we didn't have a logo so I got one designed on Fiverr just for those medals. But it became the logo that everyone associates with us and it's just so basic! We've needed to update it and our website for ages but it's been me running it on my own while working full time. We tried a rebrand, but I found the calls really difficult because you don't know what you don't know and the stuff they were coming back with wasn't great and I wonder if that was down to me being bad at explaining or them not understanding what I wanted.The outdoors is never marketed to black people, as though they would never go outdoors. That's obviously not the reason, there's loads of different reasons that we've been excluded from the outdoors and it's all ways that systemic racism manifests and creates ‘invisible barriers'. I want us to challenge stereotypes of who the outdoors is actually for because the outdoors is for everybody. I want to make it more accessible, more inclusive, create an environment where our community can really thrive and develop and experience all the benefits od the outdoors that we've historically been excluded from. BEST MOMENTS‘A CIC is a Community Interest Company, so it's a non-profit, everything we make goes back into the organisation to subsidise other activities and help reach more people.'‘It was just supposed to be a really small social group and an opportunity for me to get out explore and meet new people, but because it was on Instagram it grew and got so much more demand. I was forced to grow it, it wasn't the initial plan!'‘Wellbeing's the most important thing. We need to be able to pour into ourselves. So many people are pouring from an empty cup and running on empty because we're in a society that's all about productivity and you always feel like you have to be doing something.'‘The UK is so beautiful. When I was younger all I wanted to do was go abroad but now I'm like: “Let's go to Scotland on holiday!”'ABOUT THE GUESTAfter being inspired by a train journey through the Peak District, Rhiane founded Black Girls Hike to challenge stereotypes and the lack of representation in the outdoors. With no hiking experience herself, she put a call out on social media and Black Girls Hike was born. Since then, they've gone from strength to strength, launching groups nationwide running regular group hikes and outdoor activity days.Audiobook by Etaf Rum: A Woman Is No Man: https://amzn.to/3M2Uybv Website: https://www.bghuk.com/ Instagram: @rhianesworld and @bgh_ukFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/bghmcr/ ABOUT THE HOSTDanielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and Business Owner.Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including Škoda, Gtech, UK Biocentre, UK Mail and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people's lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers.Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | [https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/]LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/]Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke | [https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke]Email - hello@danielleclarkecreative.com Website: www.danielleclarkecreative.com This show was brought to you by Progressive Media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Butler-Adams OBE CEng, Chief Executive Officer at Brompton Bicycle joined Brompton in 2002, became director in 2006, and took over as MD in 2008 and in this time he grew the company from £2 mil turnover to over £90 mil turnover with over 800 staff.  William is a Chartered Engineer, passionate about all things engineering, having previously worked for DuPoint, Nissan and ICI. He is married with three daughters and lives near Marlow. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 2015 for services to Industry. Previously, he was a trustee of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on behalf of the government, a founding trustee of Inspiring the Future charity and on the board of Investors in People, supporting its transition out of government into an independent Community Interest Company. A Fellow of Institute of Mechanical Engineers, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Member of the Vintners company and keen on his veggie patch. This episode is a nugget of inspiration from someone who has achieved so much. Catch a dose of his passion for innovation and be inspired by his ambition and successes.  In this episode: William's early life in education His serendipitous introduction to Brompton Bikes  Bringing ambition and producing innovation Fostering growth and innovation with company culture Plans for further growth at Brompton Bikes Using digital tools for environmental solutions  

Did you know that the way you tie your shoes can have an effect on your feet while running?    Returning guest and running expert, Dr. Juliet McGrattan, answers your running questions including the best way to stretch, how to improve your running posture for optimal performance and so much more.  Do not miss this episode's treasure mine of information on staying fit to run and injury-free!     IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: The best stretching technique Running posture for optimal performance Should we run when we're sick? How to improve pelvic floor dysfunction/stress incontinence Recommended diet for runners How to calculate your body's water requirement Actionable steps to manage runner's trots What can you do to keep your feet from blistering How to relieve a side stitch     RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED: Run Well: Essential Health Questions And Answers For Runners. | Paperback: https://bit.ly/3L4WRtg 261 Fearless: https://www.261fearless.org/ Stress incontinence exercises: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14611-kegel-exercises ABOUT DR. JULIET MCGRATTAN Juliet worked as an NHS GP for 16 years before deciding to focus on using her medical expertise to help people get and stay active. She has a deep love and respect for the transformative power of running after 13 years of running and multiple marathons. Her first book, Sorted: The Active Woman's Guide to Health, was named the British Medical Association's Popular Medicine Book of the Year. She is an international speaker, podcaster, Master Coach, and Women's Health Lead for the 261 Fearless global women's running network. She is the Founder and Director of 261 Fearless Club UK, a Community Interest Company, dedicated to female empowerment through running.     CONNECT WITH DR. JULIET MCGRATTAN Website: Dr. Juliet McGrattan: https://drjulietmcgrattan.com/     CONNECT WITH US Website: http://www.hammersnhugs.com YouTube: Ahna Fulmer // Hammers N Hugs Instagram: @ahna_hammersnhugs

Is it better to run on a treadmill or outside? Can I run with bad knees?  Running health expert and award-winning author, Dr. Juliet McGrattan, answers these questions and more including some surprising research about running you may have never heard of!   Don't miss this episode to hear Juliet's expert advice on running to live well.     IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How Juliet went from a primary care doctor to a runner's health pro. How to overcome physical limitations to exercise. Significant considerations when making a career switch. The KEY to goal setting and crushing The relationship between running and dementia The surprising relationship between mental health and physical surroundings. The difference between productive running and mindful running Healthy running tips for runners     RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED: American Heart Association: https://www.heart.org/ Run Well | Paperback: https://amzn.to/3xBjbaL, Kindle: https://amzn.to/3K1Uiro      ABOUT DR. JULIET MCGRATTAN Juliet worked as an NHS GP for 16 years before deciding to focus on using her medical expertise to help people get and stay active. She has a deep love and respect for the transformative power of running after 13 years of running and multiple marathons. Her first book, Sorted: The Active Woman's Guide to Health, was named the British Medical Association's Popular Medicine Book of the Year. She is an international speaker, podcaster, Master Coach, and Women's Health Lead for the 261 Fearless global women's running network, and the Founder and Director of 261 Fearless Club UK, a Community Interest Company dedicated to female empowerment through running.     CONNECT WITH DR. JULIET MCGRATTAN Websites: Dr. Juliet McGrattan: https://drjulietmcgrattan.com/ and 261 Fearless: https://www.261fearless.org/     CONNECT WITH US Website: http://www.hammersnhugs.com YouTube: Ahna Fulmer // Hammers N Hugs Instagram: @ahna_hammersnhugs Facebook: Ahna Hammer

On this special 4 segment episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we are lucky to be joined Trevor Creighton, a project archaeologist at Butser Ancient Farm. Butser Ancient Farm is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company with a focus on education and research, located just north of Portsmouth in the UK. They have a series of buildings at the farm, which are constructed based on evidence from archaeological excavations. They test theories about the technologies, building techniques and ways of life of ancient people by reconstructing parts of their homes and lives. They have constructed buildings from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman period in Britain and a house from the Anglo-Saxon era. Trevor explained his very interesting journey from doing Radiography to getting an M.A. in Visual Arts and eventually getting an M.A. in Archaeology from the University of Leicester. He then delves into the history of Butser Ancient Farm, what they do and what time periods are represented. We then discuss more broadly about experimental archaeology and experiential archaeology. We finish off by discussing if their is an equivalent to Butser Farm in North America. Butser Plus is a way you can view how the folks at Butser Ancient Farm explore the ancient past. Butser Plus contains behind-the-scenes mini documentaries of the farm. Go check it out for a remote way to observe experimental archaeology. Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot! Connect with James on Twitter: @paleoimaging Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code RUINS. Click this message for more information. Transcripts For rough transcripts of this episode go to www.archpodnet.com/ruins/103 Links Butser Ancient Farm Website Butser Plus Butser Buildings and Experiments Literature Recommendations Roman Britain in Black and White by Mary Beard Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans by Francis Pryor The Anglo-Saxon World by Martin J. Ryan and Nicholas Higham Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons by Francis Pryor Guest Contact Butser Ancient Farm Email Address Butser Ancient Farm Instagram Butser Ancient Farm LinkTree Contact Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast Twitter: @alifeinruinspod Website: www.alifeinruins.com Ruins on APN: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/ruins Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/alifeinruins/shop ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet Tee Public Store Affiliates Wildnote TeePublic Timeular

On this special 4 segment episode of A Life in Ruins Podcast, we are lucky to be joined Trevor Creighton, a project archaeologist at Butser Ancient Farm. Butser Ancient Farm is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company with a focus on education and research, located just north of Portsmouth in the UK. They have a series of buildings at the farm, which are constructed based on evidence from archaeological excavations. They test theories about the technologies, building techniques and ways of life of ancient people by reconstructing parts of their homes and lives. They have constructed buildings from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman period in Britain and a house from the Anglo-Saxon era. Trevor explained his very interesting journey from doing Radiography to getting an M.A. in Visual Arts and eventually getting an M.A. in Archaeology from the University of Leicester. He then delves into the history of Butser Ancient Farm, what they do and what time periods are represented. We then discuss more broadly about experimental archaeology and experiential archaeology. We finish off by discussing if their is an equivalent to Butser Farm in North America. Butser Plus is a way you can view how the folks at Butser Ancient Farm explore the ancient past. Butser Plus contains behind-the-scenes mini documentaries of the farm. Go check it out for a remote way to observe experimental archaeology. Interested in learning about how to use X-Rays and similar technology in archaeology? Check out the linked PaleoImaging course from James Elliot! Connect with James on Twitter: @paleoimaging Start your own podcast with Zencastr and get 30% off your first three months with code RUINS. Click this message for more information. Transcripts For rough transcripts of this episode go to www.archpodnet.com/ruins/103 Links Butser Ancient Farm Website Butser Plus Butser Buildings and Experiments Literature Recommendations Roman Britain in Black and White by Mary Beard Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans by Francis Pryor The Anglo-Saxon World by Martin J. Ryan and Nicholas Higham Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons by Francis Pryor Guest Contact Butser Ancient Farm Email Address Butser Ancient Farm Instagram Butser Ancient Farm LinkTree Contact Email: alifeinruinspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @alifeinruinspodcast Facebook: @alifeinruinspodcast Twitter: @alifeinruinspod Website: www.alifeinruins.com Ruins on APN: https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/ruins Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/alifeinruins/shop ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet Tee Public Store Affiliates Wildnote TeePublic Timeular

In order to challenge the eighth law of healthism, Dr. Asher Larmie is joined by Superfat fitness instructor Becky Scott, founder of Missfits Workout.In this episode, Asher and Becky discuss:The difference between longevity and quality of life and how this relates to healthPerforming the role of the "good fat"What it is like to be a fat fitness professionalThe role of thin allies in the fitness professionReferences:Becky can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. You can find all the information about the classes she offers on her website and you can also join her at FPAWS and as part of the Rebel Body Collective. Thank you for listeningIf you enjoy this podcast and would like to support Asher so that they can continue making them, you can join them on Patreon.  If you fancy connecting with other like-minded people in a safe and non judgmental environment, then why not join their Facebook group the ‘Friends of The Fat Doctor'? You can also check out their webiste or find them on all the usual social media channels including Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok. More about BeckyBecky is a trained as a fitness instructor and now leads her own dance-based exercise classes.  She promotes a holistic approach to fitness and wellbeing that's not about aesthetics - She's more about building confidence than muscle, more about losing inhibitions than inches! Becky's approach offers a great introduction to dance based group fitness for those who don't feel ‘at home' in the gym - with a plus size instructor who has designed routines with plus size bodies in mind.She is a founding members of Fitness Professionals Against Weight Stigma, a Community Interest Company striving to create inclusive fitness spaces where every body feels welcome and comfortable enough to feel the true benefits of physical activity.  In addition, she recently joined the Rebel Body Collective, a community of weight-neutral, size-inclusive, HAES-aligned, body liberation-oriented movement professionals.More about the show:How would you react if someone told you that most of what we are taught to believe about healthy bodies is a lie? How would you feel if that person was a medical doctor with over 20 years experience treating patients and seeing the harm caused by all this misinformation?In series 2 of their podcast, Dr Asher Larmie,  an experienced General Practitioner and self-styled Fat Doctor, examines and challenges the laws that make up the foundations of mordern day healthism.They tackles the various ways in which these laws contribute to weight stigma and fat oppression through passionate, unfiltered conversations with guest experts, colleagues and friends.  In order to really tackle weight stigma, Asher believes that you must first challenge society's definition of health, it's relationship with disease, and why fat has become public enemy number one. Whether you're a person affected by weight stigma, a healthcare professional, a concerned parent or an ally who shares our view that people in larger bodies deserve better, Dr. Larmie and the team at 'The Fat Doctor Podcast' welcomes you into the inner circle.

This week we chatted to Becky Kearns. Here is what she had to say: Hi I'm Becky, a fertility advocate and grateful mum to three girls following an early menopause diagnosis, a long fertility journey, miscarriage and eventually redefining and achieving my dream using donor eggs. As @definingmum I now raise awareness of this alternative path to parenthood and support others needing to explore this route to build their family. I launched my membership platform Paths to Parenthub in 2020, providing people with both support and connection for donor conception. I'm also a co-founder of Fertility Matters at Work, a Community Interest Company on a mission to make sure that those experiencing fertility treatment and pregnancy loss in the workplace are better supported by their employer. I'm most active on instagram @definingmum @paths_to_parenthub and also @fertilitymattersatwork.My blog can be found - www.definingmum.comMy donor conception support platform can be found - www.pathstoparenthub.comOur work with employers can be found - www.fertilitymattersatwork.com--------------------------------Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please don't forget to subscribe, rate, review and share.Visit our website where you can find out a bit about us, read the blog and even 'purch our merch' via the online shop!Find out more about THE PATHWAY TO RECOVERY which is designed to support, nuture and empower you following the loss of a baby. There is still space on our January PTR course as well as the new TRYING TO CONCEIVE AFTER LOSS COURSE both of which run over 6 weeks and start on the 7th March. Contact us via social media platforms or email info@theworstgirlgangever.co.ukYou'll find us on...FacebookInstagramTwitteror you can join the TWGGE Facebook Support GroupIt's time to break the silence and open up the dialogue around the topics of miscarriage and pregnancy loss. No more shame, no more taboo, lets ditch it for our children; the ones that will come, the ones that are and the ones that never came to be.

In this week's episode, Stacy discusses Transpersonal Chakras and tapping into the healing energy of crystals with Shirley O'Donoghue, Principal of Lucis College in the UK. Shirley is Principal of Lucis College in the UK. She has been teaching crystal therapy along with a host of other energy based therapies such as Reiki, Flower Essences and Colour Therapy for over 30 years. She has had four books published with the most recent book, Crystal Alchemy and has a new book on crystals coming out in 2022. She is also a Director of Holistic Harmony, CIC – a Community Interest Company, which supports disadvantaged groups and individuals and is a regular contributor to http://www.esotericupdates.co.uk (www.esotericupdates.co.uk) which includes channeled information and ideas to support holistic living. Shirley's Links: Websites: http://www.esotericupdates.co.uk (www.esotericupdates.co.uk), https://www.luciscollege.com/ (https://www.luciscollege.com/) Shirley's Book:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crystal-Alchemy-Practical-Guide-Therapy/dp/1913088081/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Crystal+Alchemy&qid=1637282837&sr=8-1 ( Crystal Alchemy: A Practical Guide to Crystal Therapy) Be the Love Links: Website: https://www.bethelovepodcast.com/ (https://www.bethelovepodcast.com/) Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bethelovepodcast (https://www.facebook.com/bethelovepodcast) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be_the_love_podcast/ (@bethelovepodcast) YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ6GvpAkucjPbLvv-S492NQ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ6GvpAkucjPbLvv-S492NQ) Patreon Website: https://www.patreon.com/bethelovepodcast (https://www.patreon.com/bethelovepodcast) To donate to the Kimote Foundation: https://gofund.me/969a4863 (https://gofund.me/969a4863) If you would like to learn more about becoming a Donor, Mentor, Volunteer or Sponsor, please email Kimote Foundation Director, Eric Kifampa at: kicouganda@gmail.com or go to the foundations Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Kimote-Foundation-412600252444953/ (https://www.facebook.com/Kimote-Foundation-412600252444953/) Heatherlyn's website: https://www.heatherlynmusic.com/ (https://www.heatherlynmusic.com)

So it begins...Flogoween edition! To celebrate the spookiest day of the year, we devised the great idea (it wasn't) of attempting to release 31 horror-themed films for every day in October! We are excited to partner up with Head in The Game to keep us going through this bonanza month of film watching and recording!Head In The Game is a Community Interest Company that aims to give men in the local community the chance to come together and enjoy the beautiful game of football. Supported by qualified football & Talk Club coaches, each session will focus on men's mental health & wellbeing, providing an outlet in a secure and trusted environment.The sessions are free for men between the ages of 18-55 & cater to all footballing abilities.To help support this fantastic cause, FilmFoggers are donating £2.00 per episode released during October. But we also need your help!We are trying to reach the dizzy heights of getting 1000 downloads during October to add extra sprinkles on top of the pumpkin pie. If we achieve 1000 downloads, Filmfloggers will top up our donation to £100. So even if you have no interest in listening, please think about downloading one or all of our 31 Flogoween films, so we have an excuse to donate more money towards this fantastic cause! FilmFloggers Episodes - https://t.co/uHw3yuylDr?amp=1Please visit https://headinthegame.co.uk and click on the About Us tab, where you'll find more information on the main aims and objectives of HITG. Just Giving Donation link - https://tinyurl.com/y44b8mWebsite Donation Link - https://headinthegame.co.uk/donate/FilmFloggers Episodes - https://t.co/uHw3yuylDr?amp=1Topics discussed during the episode:Do Filmfloggers deserve some form of plaque for their efforts?Is our M.Night Shyamalan pronunciation on point?Is Fiona's Wahlberg pronunciation on point? NopeIs Cole's consistent MAMA calling the reason Toni Collete ignores his ghostly ways?Was hoovering the demon out of Regan in The Exorcist the answer? Is Cole's mouth a ghost? Or something more sinister? Has Fiona seen The Happening? NopeFiona lays out her ghost clues; I only realise she's doing it halfway through.How often is Bruce Willis being sat on? Social Mediahttps://linktr.ee/FilmFloggersHelp Flog the Podcast by Rate and Reviewing! Apple iTunes - https://tinyurl.com/268ccs6cPodchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/users/filmfloggersGoodpods - https://goodpods.app.link/gEvDLhAJYibSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FilmFloggers)

On this Episode we head to Wales and pay a visit to Caswell Bay and meet the guys from Surfability.Surfability UK is a Community Interest Company that provides surfing lessons and experiences for people with additional needs due to disability, illness, injury or learning difficulties.This episode affected us a lot more than we thought it would as you will hear in our pre and post chat.The UK Surf Show - HereSurfability - HereBook The Wave Bristol - HereKosin - HereNorthcore - HereLog fin co - Here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first episode in an ongoing series exploring the work of London National Park City Rangers. I go 'in the field' to to meet Rangers Luke Newcombe and Charles Linton in Wood Green, North London, to see some urban greening interventions first hand:Green public space at Wood Green LibraryGreen roofsThe borough's first Parklet/Pocket ParkNature ReserveLuke also gives advice for how you can start greening your own neighbourhood.Luke runs GrowN22, a Community Interest Company dedicated to transforming unlikely, disused and neglected spaces and gardens across Haringey into vibrant community gardens and growing spaces made for and by local people.Charles works in outdoor education and is a self-professed invertebrate nerd.Learn more about London National Park City and GrowN22:https://grown22.com/ https://www.nationalparkcity.london/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast

Following a successful Sales and Marketing career Dave established Koi Sports CIC, and now draws on his vast experience of building active and profitable business networks to drive commercial investment into the Grassroots Sports Sector, and as a result delivers positive social change within local communities using Sport as the vehicle for change.  Koi Sports CIC is a Community Interest Company that reinvests its profits into the Grassroots Sports sector as a way of delivering positive social change. As a business Koi Sports specialise in building Corporate Support Networks that invest financially in, and offer support to, Grassroots Sports Clubs, Charities and sport-related Social Initiatives, both here in the UK and in different countries across the world. Our unique business model offers Social Marketing and enhanced CSR as a return on investment for those Business who choose to engage.

Following an emotive experience working as a ‘de-clutterer' Clouds End founder, Heather Matuozzo, realised there was little or no help available for people affected by hoarding disorder and this spurred her on to form Clouds End CIC in 2009.​The company's prevailing belief is that the process has to be fun or it won't succeed. People often start off frightened about what may be asked of them but the idea is to help people slowly change their behaviour at a pace they find comfortable not to compel them to make dramatic, shocking changes.Their services are available to anyone looking to tackle a hoarding situation that is causing a problem.Being a Community Interest Company means Clouds End rely on funding, this can come from a wide range of sources and helps keep their work going.In this episode, I speak with Heather about what hoarding is, the difficulties people who hoard face in practical and emotional terms, and some of the ways Heather works to effectively help people who hoard and other services understand the issues. This is a fabulous chat packed full of take away messages for all of us who at any point have struggled to cope with difficult emotions.You can contact Clouds End HEREAlso! If you like taking quizzes and want to know the extent to which you engage in healthy habits that underpin well-being, success and resilience, you can take find out your Balanced Empowerment score HERE.

John is the owner of a Community Interest Company that specializes in delivering programmes into the prison population, with the objective of reducing loneliness and social isolation. He uses poetry, music, comedy and chat to do this, it is very popular, and could be delivered via Zoom anywhere in the world. Loneliness is one of the main causes of anxiety and depression, and therefore the recipients need not be inside prison, they could live anywhere. The topic of prisons generally, is one that many people have a fear of, This is one fear that John has overcome. Visit John at - www.theoldfellah.co.uk --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kim-lengling1/support

The Directors of Tackle Your Thoughts sit down and discuss why they set up the Community Interest Company and their plans for the future