The Rooftop

Ruth Law The Growth Impact Fund, a social impact investment fund deployed to help diverse social entrepreneurs across the UK, has today published its latest impact report. People helped by the Fund’s investments include racialised minorities, students, people in prison, long-term unemployed neurodivergent job seekers, and LGBTQIA+ young people.

Beth Chaplow A leading ESG specialist has teamed up with female role models in tech and innovation to showcase the sector to young women across the West Midlands, ahead of their choosing their GCSE options. The aim of Girl Tech West Midlands is to provide them with the awareness and connections to pursue a career in the tech and innovation sector, if they wish to do so. The interactive digital insights day was designed by the leading ESG specialist, Ahead Partnership.

Turtle Defib Cabinets St John Scotland, in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), have installed a pioneering Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) at the RSPB Baron’s Haugh Nature Reserve in Motherwell. This significant development marks the first solar and wind-powered PAD installation in Scotland and in a UK nature reserve, aimed at enhancing public safety in a remote and power-deprived location. In Scotland the advantages would be groundbreaking.

Arts charity Stagetext has received a £20,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to help raise awareness of deaf access to arts and culture in the South East of England. The project will support Stagetext’s team of ambassadors to build relationships with deaf groups and deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people across the area to spread the word about accessible events.

Val Proctor A learning disabled man from Surrey has been taking upcycling to another level with his unique garden planters. Lawrence, who attends the Kingston Day Opportunities Resource Centre, a day service for learning disabled adults run by charity Hft, saw a unique opportunity two years ago when he found a spare, unused toilet left over from a recent renovation. Being a keen plumber, he was able to dismantle, clean and put the toilet back together.

Christopher Richard De Banks While festivals have traditionally been known as a hotspot for drugs, alcohol and substance misuse, Essex Recovery Festival is looking to fill a much-needed gap in this Summer’s festival calendar. Over recent years, England has seen a huge generational shift in alcohol consumption. In a 2023 survey, a third of young people aged 18-25 said that they had made the decision not to drink and over 40% are moderating their intake.

Nicki Morgan A Sussex housing support organisation is calling for the new government to take urgent steps to tackle the housing crisis, joining the National Housing Federation’s #PlanForHousing campaign. The campaign calls for a national long-term plan to transform the housing system, and brings together Housing Associations across the country who want to collaborate with the government to deliver it. BHT Sussex provides social housing and is a member of the National Housing Federation.

Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) has announced a record-breaking donation to The Salvation Army. Trevor Caffull, Managing Director of SATCoL, made the announcement at the company’s annual conference at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel in June.

An inspiring student has beaten hundreds to clinch the coveted title of UK Young Engineer of the Year in this year’s Big Bang Competition and a group of teens from Liverpool have been crowned as the first UK Young Technologists of the Year.

Sepsis Research FEAT, a leading charity dedicated to raising awareness and funding research into sepsis, has announced a remarkable period of fundraising success, driven by a series of community events across the UK. The charity raised a total of £36,909 over the last few months, highlighting the incredible support from individuals and communities united in the fight against sepsis.