Extending a successful partnership

By Paula Rogers. Paula works on the Enterprise Programme at Lloyds Bank, this includes both the Business Connectors & Social Entrepreneurs programmes.

                           

This month sees Lloyds Banking Group celebrate two years of working in partnership with the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) to deliver the Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs programme. I’ve been leading this programme on behalf of Lloyds Banking Group since August last year, and I’m very proud to see how we’ve developed and grown the programme during that time.

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The key to sustaining long term CSR partnerships

SSE has built and sustained several multiyear strategic partnerships with organisations including PwC, Linklaters, Royal Sun Alliance and Lloyds Banking Group. These partnerships have generated unprecedented growth in our delivery of learning programmes for social entrepreneurs and subsequently increased our social impact to heights we could have never previously imagined.

For SSE, the key components to long lasting partnerships include; building relationships at multiple levels, open (and frequent) dialogue, understanding our partners business & brand and a clear understanding of each stakeholder’s objectives- both mutual and organisation specific.

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Happy valentines to all of our fellows

Whether you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day or not (in SSE HQ most seem to be fairly scathing!) we thought it would be nice to profile some of our fabulous fellows who are doing wonderful things in their communities.

We’ve picked 9 fellows to profile here- but of course we wish a happy valentines to everyone who has been through the SSE programme. If any of the enterprises below take your interest then you can find out more by visiting their websites.

We’ll leave it to you to work out how we’ve tediously tied this into February 14th 

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Student Spotlight: Synchronised swimming (on dry land)

Mermaid Gala, Image by Lizzie Coombes

Lucy Meredith is currently a student on Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme in Leeds. Lucy set up ‘Yorkshire Life Aquatic‘ to  promote health, well-being and positive body image. Yorkshire Life Aquatic uses creative performance to encourage people to use their local leisure facilities without feeling intimidated or embarrassed about wearing a swimming costume in public.

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Student Spotlight: Working with Cancer

Meet Barbara, Founder of Working with Cancer

For almost 40 years I was convinced I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur.  Other people did that and most of them seemed to be a bit mad! My dad had been one of sorts and look where it had got him!  He ran a small leather goods business for many years and was constantly worrying about not earning enough money to support us. He had a nervous breakdown when I was a few months old and never really recovered.

So, after university, I pursued a pretty successful career in large or medium sized companies as a loyal employee, specialising in HR, which I enjoyed but wasn’t terribly fulfilling.  Why did I change my mind and set up my own business?  Well, I got cancer – in that sense, heaven help me, I did follow the family’s lead; my dad died of pancreatic cancer when I was 15 and my mum died of bowel cancer in 1993. My aunt Barbara (who I’d been named after) had died of Hodgkins’ Lymphoma at the age of 36.  Getting cancer didn’t surprise me – in a way I was expecting it – but for me it hasn’t been about endings; it has been about new beginnings…

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