Place Category: Health & Social Care
Flourish Enterprises is a social enterprise with a focus on providing care and support services throughout our local communities.
Our aims are to deliver excellent care and support throughout our Personal Care arm, Woodfield 24, our Vocational Pathway Programme and through engagement with our local communities.
We engage with our local communities by providing services including, conferencing and events, gardening products and services, visitor and function catering and operating community events and spaces.
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Social Impact Statements
The Social Enterprise Mark criteria includes a requirement that the applicant can demonstrate that social and/or environmental objectives are being achieved.
In support of this, new applicants and renewing Mark holders are asked to respond to a set of social impact questions, which are designed to help them think about the social impact they create, and to articulate this clearly and succinctly.
Updated June 2021
1) What are the main social differences you have aimed to make (or supported)?
Flourish Enterprises is a Community Interest Company housed in a stunning listed building that provides inviting office space, conference and function hire, community events and volunteering opportunities, historic walled garden & shop and cafés all surrounded by lots of beautiful green spaces.
As a social enterprise we focus on providing care and support services throughout our local communities. We exist exclusively to promote social mobility, wellbeing, opportunities and work with our partners to deliver a positive and lasting social impact.
We provide work and vocational opportunities to people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and to those that have suffered any form of set-back and who need support to get back into education and employment. Our range of activity includes Woodfield 24, our specialist end-of-life care service providing community based palliative care support to patients and their families – ensuring that their remaining time can be spent together.
One of our main goals is to educate our community to think differently about mental health and those that have experienced other set backs in their life. This has become evidently more important over the course of the last 12 months and as we begin to emerge out of the pandemic, safe green spaces such as those at Flourish will become vital to providing opportunities for everyone regardless of age, ability, circumstance and wallet.
Flourish aims to become an outstanding Community Interest Company and as part of our 5 year plan we want to help and work with other likeminded social enterprises to launch, learn, collaborate and thrive. We recognise that many third sector organisations have struggled to continue their services throughout Covid-19 and that is why at Flourish we believe we have the opportunity, perhaps a responsibility, to support other community groups to be outstanding today, tomorrow and into the future.
2) What actions have you taken to deliver the aims described above?
Too many to answer succinctly. The latest project we are undertaking is Project C:HIVE or Charity Hive.
3) What has changed, what specific outcomes and benefits have been realised as a result of the above actions?
Despite the challenges of the last 12 months we have been relatively successful in getting people back into education and/or employment via our vocational programme.
We have been able to ensure Doncaster residents get their preferred place of death and to spent their remaining time with their loved ones.
We kept our site and services open throughout the pandemic which was important for our community and for the health and wellbeing of our own people.
We are opening up many more opportunities to work with and support other third sector organisations.
Through our office spaces we have ensured that all of our tenants have remained supported.
We work directly with our colleagues in the RDaSH NHS Trust on a range of programmes centred around mental health and wellbeing.
4) Please describe how your income and/or any profits generated from previous years has been maximised in delivering social outputs and adding social value.
As a not-for-profit every penny of surplus we generate is invested straight back into community led activity whether that be supporting local food initiatives, providing free access to training and event spaces, hosting friendship and networking sessions for lonely or vulnerable people, offering a range of "pay what you can afford" services an catering and so many more.
The last 12 months has had a severe impact on our financial health so we have not had the ability to support our community as much as we had planned or hoped to.
Despite this we have remained open where government measures have allowed us, have continued to run our community based palliative service throughout, and have safeguarded all paid jobs and volunteering opportunities as we recognised the value of structure and purpose during what has been a turbulent period.
Supplementary details
The below questions are not mandatory, but Mark holders are encouraged to answer them where possible, to provide a fuller account of their social outcomes and the social value they create.
5) How do you and other people know your aims are being achieved? Or how will you know?
We are just starting out on a comprehensive programme of community outreach work that includes - recruitment of a Volunteering and Outreach Officer, focus groups to better understands how people use our site and where there are opportunities for further improvement, some targeted research to identify physical and perceived barriers from the BAME community accessing our site.
As we undertake a development of our site over the next 24 months we will be holding regular check-in sessions with all stakeholders to ensure we keep true to our CORE PURPOSE.
As we move forward we commit to improving the ways our users can leave feedback and suggestions. Each year starting April 2022 we will be producing an annual Impact Report. This will be a great opportunity to celebrate our successes and share our challenges and give our community a taste of our future plans and how they will play a role in shaping these.
6) How many people have benefitted from your actions and what measures of benefit can you report?
Over an average year we ensure that - 250 patients are given their preferred place of death, provide vocational support to 400 "team members" referred by the NHS Trust, welcome more then 50,000 visitors to our listed building, gardens and green areas, host up to 50 local businesses and third sector organisations within out office spaces, support hundreds of people through our food networks, provide volunteering opportunities for up to 40 people at any one time, and we provide attractive, welcoming facilities for more then 4000 NHS staff and their families.
7) What examples can you provide of a typical service user experience, that help illustrate the benefits they have experienced as a result of your actions?
Volunteers
Some of our volunteers are taking a break from work, were looking for something to complement their other commitments or other situation with each person having a unique set of circumstances. We treat them the same as a paid member of staff, involving them in all staff forums, workshops and communications.
Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Flourish and as part of our plans to grow our volunteering network, we are taking on a new paid role (Volunteering and Outreach Officer) to ensure this group of people have the very best experience possible.
Our volunteers are given whatever support they need to ensure that when paid positions become available, then they are well positioned to apply.
Vocational Team Member
We receive referrals from our local NHS Trust for people who are further away from the job market and receiving treatment for a variety of different conditions including; mental health, learning disabilities, autistic spectrum, substance misuse, and long term neurological conditions.
We provide practical work placements and work in partnership with local colleges so people can achieve accredited qualifications whilst they are with us.
End-of-life Patient
Woodfield 24 is our community based end-of-life care service. When a patient is diagnosed as reach end of life their options include a hospice, a hospital or the familiarity and comfort of their own home.
Upon being referred to Woodfield 24, our team of carers and Patient Liaison Officers (supported by the office staff) work to understand their precise needs, build up a rapport and sense of trust. The relationship is as much with the patients family as it is with the patient. Dealing with end of life can be emotionally challenging for so many people and so Woodfield 24 is there to take some of the pressure away allowing families to enjoy the remaining time they have left together.
Our service is held in very regard by our funders and service users. We would be pleased to share this feedback upon request. For now this is a link to our recent YouTube video tribute we made to thank our wonderful team at Woodfield 24 and to everyone that chooses to show care and kindness to others.
8) What social and environmental benefits have you created arising from internal operational policies and other actions?
Our environmental programme needs improving and the last 12 months has made this more important then ever.
We are committed to removing single use plastics out of our business over the next 12 months. We want to increase a waste to landfill from the current 50% down to less then 10%.
Part of this will be achieved through our planned programme of investment into our infrastructure. Solar panels to generate our own power, water drainage systems to collect rainwater and recycle in our gardens, complete removal of single use coffee cups and specialist customer recycling points for more unusual items (pens, spectacles, crips packets, bras, toothbrushes etc) are all planned.
The new board at Flourish are fully committed to improving "the package" for our staff. Whilst full Living Wage is beyond our means at this time, we are looking at ways we can introduce it over the next 12 months. Alongside this we are exploring new development and promotional opportunities so our people can see a clear pathway to growing their role over the longer term.
We are also looking at everything from employee discounts, pensions, holiday entitlement to duvet days and staff representatives that sit on our board and are involved in all aspects of decision making.
