BikeRight! nominated for Social Enterprise award!

BikeRight! has been nominated for Best Social Enterprise Serving A Community in the Upstarts Awards 2009.

Everyone has great ideas about how to change the world we live in but few have the courage to follow their ideas through. The 2009 Upstarts Awards seek to recognise and reward the individual, local authority, company, and elected official who have courageously impacted the lives of their communities. The New Statesman Upstarts Awards are now in their eighth year having been inaugurated in 2001.

Social entrepreneurs are guided by social and environmental purposes and resulting profits from their endeavors are reinvested to sustain and cultivate their mission for positive change. These dynamic enterprises and individuals with a social purpose invigorate the UK economy and challenge the traditional role of companies as profit-driven ventures. There are approximately 62,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of at least £27 billion.

Social enterprises foster the development of innovative business practices including vocational training, enterprise structures, creative revenue solutions and co-operative ownership models. The main beneficiaries of social enterprises are often the socially excluded; typically the long term unemployed, people with disabilities, the elderly, people on low incomes and children or young people.

The Upstarts Awards scheme is designed to encourage and promote these social entrepreneurs who are providing sustainable solutions to social problems, and through doing this are empowering and regenerating their communities.

“We are really pleased to get this nomination and are keeping fingers crossed that the judges recognise our work with an award. We put a lot of effort in to our local community, not just as BikeRight! but as individuals” said Liz Clarke, BikeRight! MD.

“BikeRight! work with many outreach groups operating within communities, some are involved with drug and alcohol abuse and use cycling as a way to get around cities, towns and rural areas in search of those at risk” added Liz.