Sophia Hub Redbridge: latest achievements

A corporate grant award from the London Borough of Redbridge enabled Sophia Hubs Limited to gain an additional £20,000.00 for Sophia Hub Redbridge through successful applications to the Diocese of Chelmsford Mission Opportunities Fund and Awards for All.

As a result, Sophia Hub Redbridge has delivered its core services of Timebank (including community skills swap events), Entrepreneur’s Club (weekly) and Sophia Courses on an expanded basis through new partnerships with Enterprise Desk, Forest Farm Peace Garden, Redbridge Chamber of Commerce, Redbridge Institute, Seven Kings Business Partnership and at locations serving South Ilford, Goodmayes and Hainault, as well as Seven Kings. In addition Sophia Hub Redbridge has developed the following new initiatives in the borough:

• developed the Enterprising Redbridge project in partnership with Redbridge CVS to build entrepreneurial skills in Redbridge’s Third Sector;
• Enterprising Redbridge website (including an online survey) has gone live at http://redbridge.enterprisingcommunities.co/;
• identified and contacted 13 green businesses leading to the creation of an online directory at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BHM6f5mPUxd28ojGSPEWedxEa-06uZU_nlsB3A7JtXU/edit?pli=1#gid=0;
• organised a first Green Pop-Up market. Now a monthly initiative in partnership with Transition Town Ilford and Ilford Recycles;
• support for Seven Kings pop-up market (Seven Kings Business Partnership) and Wanstead pop-up shop (Wanstead Arts Trail);
• held an inter-generational community skills swap event involving NCS students;
• held a Timebank marketplace and trading floor event at the Enterprise Desk in February with agreement reached for further events in April and July;
• development of a business buddy scheme;
• ran the first Sophia Course for Redbridge Institute students. Further courses will follow;
• held two joint entrepreneur’s clubs with Redbridge College business students;
• organised two business networking events in Hainault. These events will be monthly in future;
• contributed to the boards of Redbridge Chamber of Commerce and Seven Kings Business Partnership increasing the scope and reputation of our work;
• held a health farm day at the Marjorie Collins Centre and provided support for weekly chair yoga sessions; and
• youtube videos prepared and posted publicising Timebank and Sophia Hub Redbridge.

We also enabled the contribution of 1,338 volunteer hours during 2015 and the exchange of 358 hours through the Timebank from April 2015 to March 2016.

Click here to see our 2014/2015 achievements and here to see our 2013/2014 achievements.

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Curtis Mayfield - A New World Order.