Dear Michelle

I would like to nominate Virtuous Bread/Bread Angels, a social enterprise dedicated to changing the world through bread. In addition to teaching baking classes to paying students and, on a voluntary basis (schools, prisons, shelters) we teach people how to set up micro bakeries. These are the Bread Angels and there are over 100 in the UK. Some people have paid themselves and others have been sponsored (Peabody Trust, Richmond Council, and Ex-Cell have sponsored people). The objective of teaching baking is so people can feed them themselves (and whomever else they want), learn a vital life skill, and build self esteem. The objective of helping people set up micro bakeries is to create job opportunities for people who would like to run their own business, working from home, and build links into their communities. Many of the Bread Angels are earning a living running micro bakeries and some of them now employ others as well.

The link to the VB site is: http://www.virtuousbread.com.
The link to the BA site is: http://www.breadangels.com

I hope you consider this nomination favourably. Please send me an application form if that is appropriate. Kind regards, Jane Mason

Cheers Fiona.

I would just like to remind us all that social enterprises were formed in the late 1970s as a financial viable, social wealth creator and environmental responsible trader. As alternative to private ownership and financial profit motive. For communities, we started in mid 1970s, to form and register community enterprises that are the same in many ways as social enterprise only that they are orientated and even focused on community ownership. They hold community assets, employ local people, use trading and profits for community benefit, operate environmental responsibly trading and are increasing around the world. There are thousands of community enterprises, we have 3 in the very small town where I live, and it would, I think, be a mistake to ignore them and pretend to have developed something new when it already exists, there is far too much of this sort of waste.

If you would like to see more I believe the organisation that promotes and supports community enterprises is now called Locality. I’m sure you will find it online.

Regards