Giraffe Community Interest Statement

Our activities will be carried out for the benefit of adults, resident in the Perth and Kinross area, who are affected by mental ill-health, disability and other significant barriers to finding and sustaining employment.

1 Activities - General

In general terms, this intermediate labour market company is being set up to develop a range of innovative social enterprise trading activities offering employment related support and opportunities to disadvantaged individuals.

The unique employability support available to the company will be offered by trained volunteer employment Buddies. These volunteers, the majority of whom are retired people with significant life and work experience, are available from our partner organisation, the CheckIn Group (a consortium of voluntary and statutory agencies sharing a common employability agenda.)

Benefits

In its drive to create sustainable social enterprises, the company is committed to new business development that can offer meaningful employment opportunities to individuals who would otherwise be excluded from the local workforce. The community will benefit from the company's holistic approach to employability where needs-led support, training and encouragement are provided to economically and socially disadvantaged adults. Individuals will have increased opportunities for fulfilling their personal potential, and in doing so, to contribute positively to the growth of the local social economy.

2 Activities - Perth Shop

The company will sell an extensive range of quality fair-trade and organic foodstuffs, seasonal gifts and gift packs, green and eco-friendly gifts and other merchandise from shop premises in central Perth. The shop will sell locally grown herbs and a range of unusual perennial and herbaceous plants. This venue will provide the space for a fine art and jewellery gallery with opportunities for occasional special exhibitions. Fair-trade tea and coffee tasting sessions will be offered in the shop.

Benefits

The shop provides a mainstream trading environment where disadvantaged members of the Perth and Kinross community can receive employability Buddy support. The shop offers individuals valuable opportunities to gain appropriate skills, experience, attitudes and motivation as part of their progression to paid employment opportunities in the community. While gaining work experience both within the shop and in its related activities, individuals will receive continuing support from Buddies as they prepare for moving on to other mainstream settings. Support includes help with interview skills, transport, personal presentation, communication, form filling and personal effectiveness. The shop trading environment will offer a wide range of work experience and training including sales and marketing, customer service, shelf filling and stock control, Health and Safety, hospitality, administration, book-keeping, IT and cleaning. The ethos of the company is one of providing individuals with the resources to 'move on'. The shop will become a valuable community resource to which a range of agencies will refer a significant number of clients for work placements and trials, job shadowing and training opportunities.

The wider community will benefit by having access to a greater selection of fairly-traded foodstuffs and other merchandise than is available in local supermarkets. Furthermore, the community will benefit from the opportunity to support the growth of the local social economy through the purchase of locally grown plants, wooden planters and other locally manufactured and sourced merchandise.

3 Activities - Distribution

From the OK Base on the Murray Royal Hospital site, the company will establish and develop a distribution enterprise delivering fair-trade tea/coffee/sugar/biscuits and other foodstuffs to offices, staffrooms and commercial outlets. For a minimum monthly order, delivery will be free of charge.

Benefits

This innovative business enterprise will offer work experience, placements and part-time paid opportunities to a number of individuals who are currently unemployed and are keen to progress to mainstream employment. With the support of CheckIn Group volunteer Buddies, individuals will gain experience and training in retail distribution, warehousing, website order processing, book-keeping, customer service, delivery and other key tasks. This business activity provides a supported environment enabling members of the community who are furthest from the mainstream labour market (e.g. people with enduring mental ill-health) to make the fragile transition into part-time paid employment in the future.

The business community in Perth and Kinross will benefit by having the choice (currently unavailable) to support the growth of the local social economy by purchasing office supplies from an a local fair-trade supplier offering employment to disadvantaged members of the community.

4 Activities - Horticulture

In addition to growing a range of herbs and unusual plants for retail sale, the company will provide a service to the public and businesses in supplying attractive wooden planters and offering a twice-yearly refill service. From its site at the Westbank nursery, the company will offer horticulture experience to adults with mental ill-health, sensory impairments and learning disabilities. Growing on plants and herbs from seeds, plug-ins, and those propagated from volunteer gardeners, the company will sell these from a variety of locations, including the Giraffe shop.

Benefits

Through its horticultural enterprise, this company activity will offer similar benefits to disadvantaged individuals as described above. While gaining confidence, skills, experience and new interests, members of the community will be supported on a one-to-one basis to progress on to mainstream employment opportunities or training within other settings.

A secondary benefit, but important one, is the value of encouraging the involvement of local gardeners and plants people. The company is keen to encourage the participation of all sections of the community, especially retired members of the community who can bring significant life and work experience to the benefit of disadvantaged individuals.

In addition to the benefits outlined above, company activities will, both now and in the future, have the following benefits for disadvantaged members of the Perth and Kinross community.

• Increased access to appropriate employment opportunities that are sustainable in the longer term. Opportunities for volunteering, part and full time work, trial placements and other flexible arrangements can be facilitated through the support of Buddies.
• Development of needs-led individualised 'soft support' for that can be offered through the one-to-one helping relationship.
• Significantly increased opportunities for confidence building, feelings of self esteem and personal self-direction.
• Significant promotion of the individual's social integration and inclusion opportunities in mainstream social settings.
• Wide scope for opportunities to promote anti-discriminatory practice in the workplace and to challenge stereotypes and prejudices about mental ill-health among existing employees.
• Buddies will act as useful 'sign posters' between different service providers thereby increasing the support available to individuals.
• Volunteer Buddies can work closely with existing support workers. They can provide the required help and soft support to service users that paid staff find difficult to offer due to limited resources and time constraints.
• Buddies can increase an individual's access to College and other learning and training opportunities available throughout Perth & Kinross.