The first Lewisham Changemakers Pitch Night took place on the evening of 19 November, giving seven local social enterprises the opportunity to present their projects and appeal for funding or in-kind support.
The event was held at the Professor Stuart Hall Building at the Goldsmiths New Cross campus. In total, £4,250 cash, two laptops and over a dozen offers of community space and volunteering were made during the session, which was attended among others by representatives of contractors United Living, Kier and Travis Perkins Managed Services, as well as Lewisham Local, CatBytes, and Goldsmiths itself.
It was the culmination of a programme organised by Lewisham Homes and Voluntary Action Lewisham which brought together a team of specialist trainers to help social entrepreneurs become investment ready. After applying and being accepted on the scheme earlier this year, the participants were offered a free programme of six evening classes and two whole-day sessions to teach them how to build a credible social enterprise plan.
“It was a fantastic evening,” said Alys Exley-Smith, Lewisham Homes’ community relations manager.
“We were delighted to showcase such innovative ideas from the Changemakers. We want to thank everyone that pitched and pledged to support.”
The programme will be running again in 2020, and anyone interested is encouraged to email getinvolved@lewishamhomes.org.uk for more information.
A social enterprise could be any business with social objectives which reinvests its profits for that purpose, so individuals or groups who want to make a positive social impact in Lewisham should consider applying.