Plunkett Foundation News

The Plunkett Foundation is pleased to announce that a community-owned rural shop supported by its hugely successful Village CORE Programme has won a coveted award for best village shop and post office in the South West of England.  Berrynarbor is a small village located on the North Devon coast. In 2004 the community faced the prospect of losing the village shop and post office when the postmaster retired. Residents decided to take action and formed a co-operative to save the shop. As Alex Parke, of Berrynarbor Community Shop and Post Office explains, the shop and post office are “one of...

A new mentoring programme from the Making Local Food Work, Specialist Enterprise Support team is available to community food businesses in England.  Food based social enterprises can receive 16 hours FREE practical hands-on support from mentors chosen as leaders from similar successful food enterprises.  Experienced members or managers of food based social enterprises may be interested in becoming a mentor.If you’re unsure whether Skillshare is right for you and want to discuss things further, please feel free to contact us direct: Richard Snow, Enterprise Support, Making Local Food Work, Plunkett Foundation.Tel: 01993 814388, Email: richard.snow@plunkett.co.uk http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/news/news.cfm/newsid/41

The Making Local Food Work conference taking place on 30th March is now fully booked.  Due to the extremely positive reaction and high demand for places, Making Local Food Work is currently looking at dates and venues for a second event in the late summer.  If you are interested in attending this event, please register your interest by emailing info@makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk or sign up to the Making Local Food Work newsletter to be the first to hear when details are released.http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/

Put this date in your diary for the first Making Local Food Work annual conference. Making Local Food Work is an initiative managed by the Plunkett Foundation and funded by the Big Lottery Fund. Exploring community enterprise approaches to connecting land and people through food, the programme aims to increase access to fresh, healthy, local food with clear, traceable origins.  The conference will include the best speakers, most inspiring case studies and most innovating workshops relating to local food and community enterprise.  Look out for further information over coming weeks in the Plunkett Weekly News and on the Making Local Food Work website.http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/...

Fresh Ideas – Rural Social Enterprise was launched at Enterprise for Empowerment.  Fresh Ideas, the second in a series of publications from the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise Magazine, was launched by Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for the Third Sector, at the conference via video message.  Fresh Ideas includes articles on the Plunkett Foundation’s global vision, rural health and social enterprise, community-owned shops and multipurpose centres alongside features on the Plunkett Foundation’s work in the North West and with local food community enterprises.  Fresh Ideas will be distributed with the December edition of Social Enterprise Magazine and is also available...

At Enterprise for Empowerment, the Plunkett Foundation featured the first public viewings of their two inspiring new films.  The first film features the Plunkett Foundation’s work in supporting community-owned shops in the UK.  With the film being based around a case study of Tackley ‘All-in-One’ Centre in Oxfordshire, you hear from those involved in setting up the shop and also from members of the community which have benefited from the services offered.  The second film is based around the Plunkett Foundation’s work in supporting rural social enterprises in the North West through Strengthening Rural Communities across the North West, a...

David Hunter, Head of Rural Affairs at the Northwest Regional Development Agency, launched the Plunkett Foundation’s new guide, Strengthening Rural Communities – Information, Advice and Support (3MB), at Enterprise for Empowerment at Enterprise for Empowerment.  The guide focuses on the broad range of advice that many rural social enterprises need when they are first starting up or looking to diversify and features case studies of rural social enterprises supported through the programme.  The guide is available with a copy of the Strengthening Rural Communities across the North West film from the Plunkett Foundation by emailing info@plunkett.co.uk or by calling 01993 810730....

Blockley Village Shop and Café in Gloucestershire opened in May this year.  It is one of over 180 community-owned rural shops in the UK.  Blockley Village Shop and Café received support from the Village CORE Programme, an initiative run by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with Co-operative and Community Finance and the Esmèe Fairbairn Foundation which supports communities looking to set up and run a community-owned village shop.  The story of how the shop and café was developed has recently been featured on Sky News (see link below) and in the Guardian.http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Blockley-Village-Shop-Cotswolds-Community-Launches-Cooperative-In-Struggling-Village/Article/200812115173606?lpos=UK_News_Article_Body_Copy_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15173606_Blockley_Village_Shop%3A_Cotswolds_Community_Launches_Cooperative_In_Struggling_Villagehttp://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/rcs/shopdirectory.cfm/shop/345

Thank you to all those who attended Enterprise for Empowerment, the eighth Plunkett Foundation Rural Social Enterprise Conference.From community transport picking delegates up from Crewe Railway Station to rural social enterprises providing food for the conference dinner and even the wine, Enterprise for Empowerment showcased the very best of rural social enterprise throughout the two day event.Presentations from the event and a conference report will be made available online shortly.

The Plunkett Foundation would like to know more about the impact of the 'credit crunch' and the current economic turmoil on Rural Social Enterprises. Rural Social Enterprises are social enterprises which are either based in a rural area or their main beneficiary group is located in a rural area. The Plunkett Foundation is a strategic partner of the Office of the Third Sector with a specific remit for representing the voice of rural social enterprises and the particular challenges that they face. This will be the first of a number of short surveys on specific issues impacting upon rural social...