North Wales Social Entrepreneurs lead the shortlist for prestigious business awards

North Wales Social enterprises and social entrepreneurs lead the shortlisted nominations for the Social Enterprise Awards Wales 2014, which will be held on Tuesday 30th September at Glasdir in Llanwrst. The awards are sponsored by Conwy County Borough Council who will be presenting the coveted ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ Award.

Amongst the shortlisted nominees are a community operated leisure centre in Beaumaris, a North Wales textile recycling consortium, an Anglesey fitness centre, a Wrexham based social entrepreneur and an innovative, Rhyl based project to loan interview clothes to unemployed young people.

This year, the awards include a new ‘Inspiring Youth Award’ category, whose nominees are all from North Wales.

The Social Enterprise ‘One to Watch’ is always a hotly contested category. This year, the category shortlist includes two North Wales businesses and is sponsored by Landsker Business Solutions.

Draig Tex is a consortium of three social enterprises, Crest Co-operative, Antur Waunfawr and Seren Ffestiniog Cyf. It is based in Mochdre and collects recyclable textile materials. The consortium aims to ensure that the value of recycled material is not lost to Wales and profits are reinvested into Welsh communities.

Canolfan Beaumaris (Beaumaris Leisure Centre) was established in December 2012, by the local community to save the centre from closure. The community group are now responsible for the day to day management of this centre. The Centre provides a range of services, from a GP Referral Programme, through to a local foodbank which has just been recently established.

Competition in this category comes from Valleys social business Monwel and Swansea based worker co-operative, Accommodation Furniture Solutions Ltd.

The all North-Wales shortlist for the ‘Inspiring Youth Award’, sponsored by Big Ideas Wales, includes Ysgol Glan Y Mor in Pwhelli who have developed a mobile ‘app’ to promote local shops to tourists and Ysgol Brynrefail in Llarug who have developed a community radio station ‘Radio Refail’ to develop skills and promote businesses and entrepreneurialism.

The shortlist is completed by Emily Hesketh who is in the process of setting up ‘Changing Rooms, Changing Lives’, an enterprise which will help young and unemployed people from the age of 16 up, to access suitable clothing for interviews when they are applying for jobs.

North Wales is also well represented in the ‘Social Enterprise Champion’ category which this year is sponsored by Unity Trust Bank.

Holyhead and Anglesey Weightlifting and Fitness Centre has been shortlisted for its impressive achievements in opening up health and fitness for all on the island. Alison Hill, Chief Officer of Wrexham’s Caia Park Partnership has been shortlisted for her ten year commitment to developing the organisation into a sustainable, strong, diverse social enterprise rooted in the local community.

They face competition from Anthea Clements, Chief Executive of Barry YMCA in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Social Enterprise of the Year category features four shortlisted social enterprises.
These include Greenstream Flooring CIC, a Porth based social enterprise which reclaims and resells carpet tiles as well as providing low cost carpeting to social housing tenants.

Also nominated are Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water, the only non shareholder company in the utilities sector. Dwr Cymru has been nominated for its unique business model and for its efforts to deliver better services to its customers.

Other competitors in this category include Pembrokeshire FRAME, a furniture re-use social enterprise and charity which offers work experience to disabled and excluded people in Pembrokeshire and 4CG, a community regeneration organisation which was set up to support a range of initiatives to keep money circulating within the local economy of Cardigan.

Derek Walker, Chief Executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre was delighted with the variety and quality of entries received this year, “

"Yet again, we have had a fabulous response to the Social Enterprise Awards. The quality of entries improves year on year and this year it is particularly encouraging to see so many quality nominations for our new Inspiring Youth Award suggesting that young people across Wales recognise the potential of the social enterprise approach.

“Social Enterprises and co-operatives are viable and successful business models that can support viable communities, create jobs and growth and it is great to see some of the best examples of this recognised in this years shortlists.”

The Social Enterprise Awards Wales are sponsored by Conwy County Borough Council, alongside Unity Trust Bank, Big Ideas Wales, Landsker Business Solutions & Charity Bank . They take place in Glasdir in Llanrwst on Tuesday 30th September.

The following day Glasdir will play host to the Wales Social Enterprise Conference 2014 which will see representatives of social enterprises from across Wales gather to discuss its themes of ‘Education, Learning and Growth’. The conference will address a number of pressing issues facing Welsh social enterprises: growth and development; profile raising and communication and the need to inspire a new generation of social entrepreneurs.

The Conference and Awards are run by the Social Enterprise Support Project which is tasked with promoting and developing social enterprise in Wales. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government.

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Entrepreneuriaid Cymdeithasol Gogledd Cymru yn arwain y rhestr fer ar gyfer gwobrau busnes mawreddog

Mae mentrau ac entrepreneuriaid cymdeithasol Gogledd Cymru yn arwain yr enwebiadau ar restrau byr Gwobrau Mentrau Cymdeithasol Cymru 2014, fydd yn cael eu cynnal ddydd Mawrth 30 Medi yng Nglasdir yn Llanrwst. Noddir y gwobrau gan Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy a fydd yn cyflwyno'r Wobr 'Menter Gymdeithasol y Flwyddyn' nodedig.

Ymhlith yr enwebeion ar y rhestr fer mae canolfan hamdden ym Miwmares a weithredir gan y gymuned, consortiwm ailgylchu tecstilau Gogledd Cymru, canolfan ffitrwydd yn Sir Fôn, entrepreneur cymdeithasol yn Wrecsam a phrosiect arloesol wedi'i leoli yn Rhyl i fenthyg dillad cyfweliad i bobl ifanc ddi-waith.

Eleni, mae'r gwobrau'n cynnwys categori 'Gwobr Ysbrydoli Ieuenctid' newydd, a daw'r holl enwebeion yn y categori o Ogledd Cymru.

Mae'r Fenter Gymdeithasol 'Seren y Dyfodol' bob tro yn gategori gyda chystadleuaeth frwd. Eleni, mae rhestr fer y categori yn cynnwys dau fusnes o Ogledd Cymru, ac fe'i noddir gan Landsker Business Solutions.

Mae Draig Tex yn gonsortiwm o dair menter gymdeithasol, Crest Co-operative, Antur Waunfawr a Seren Ffestiniog Cyf. Mae wedi'i leoli ym Mochdre ac yn casglu deunyddiau tecstilau ailgylchadwy. Nod y consortiwm yw sicrhau bod gwerth cynnyrch wedi'i ailgylchu yn aros yng Nghymru a bod yr elw'n cael ei ail-fuddsoddi yng nghymunedau Cymru.

Sefydlwyd Canolfan Biwmares (Canolfan Hamdden Biwmares) fis Rhagfyr 2012 gan y gymuned leol er mwyn cadw'r ganolfan rhag cau. Mae'r grŵp cymunedol bellach yn gyfrifol am reoli'r ganolfan hon o ddydd i ddydd. Mae'r Ganolfan yn darparu ystod o wasanaethau, o Raglen Cyfeirio Meddygon Teulu, i gronfa fwyd leol a sefydlwyd yn ddiweddar.

Daw cystadleuaeth yn y categori hwn o du Monwel, busnes cymdeithasol yn y Cymoedd, a menter gydweithredol y gweithwyr yn Abertawe, Accomodation Furniture Solutions Ltd.

Mae'r rhestr fer gyfan yn dod o Ogledd Cymru ar gyfer 'Gwobr Ysbrydoli Ieuenctid', wedi'i noddi gan Syniadau Mawr Cymru, ac mae'n cynnwys Ysgol Glan y Môr ym Mhwllheli, sydd wedi datblygu app ffôn symudol i hyrwyddo siopau lleol i dwristiaid, ac Ysgol Brynrefail yn Llanrug, sydd wedi datblygu gorsaf radio gymunedol 'Radio Refail' i ddatblygu sgiliau a hyrwyddo busnesau ac entrepreneuriaeth.

Yn cwblhau'r rhestr fer mae Emily Hesketh, sydd yn y broses o sefydlu ‘Changing Rooms, Changing Lives’, menter a fydd yn helpu pobl ifanc a phobl ddi-waith 16 oed a hŷn i gael mynediad at ddillad addas ar gyfer cyfweliadau wrth geisio am swyddi.

Mae cynrychiolaeth dda o Ogledd Cymru hefyd yn y categori 'Arweinydd Menter Gymdeithasol' a noddir eleni gan Unity Trust Bank.

Mae Canolfan Codi Pwysau a Ffitrwydd Caergybi a Môn wedi cyrraedd y rhestr fer am ei chyflawniadau nodedig mewn rhoi mynediad at iechyd a ffitrwydd i bawb ar yr ynys. Mae Alison Hill, Prif Swyddog Partneriaeth Parc Caia yn Wrecsam wedi cyrraedd y rhestr fer am ei deng mlynedd o ymroddiad i ddatblygu'r sefydliad yn fenter gymdeithasol gynaliadwy, gadarn ac amrywiol wedi'i gwreiddio yn y gymuned leol.

Maent yn wynebu cystadleuaeth gan Anthea Clements, Prif Weithredwr YMCA y Barri ym Mro Morgannwg.

Mae pedair menter gymdeithasol ar y rhestr fer yn y categori Menter Gymdeithasol y Flwyddyn.
Mae'r rhain yn cynnwys Cwmni Buddiannau Cymunedol Greenstream Flooring, menter gymdeithasol yn y Porth sy'n ailgasglu ac yn ailwerthu teils carped yn ogystal â darparu carpedi am gost isel i denantiaid tai cymdeithasol. Wedi'i enwebu hefyd mae Dŵr Cymru, yr unig gwmni yn y sector cyfleustodau nas reolir gan gyfranddalwyr. Enwebwyd Dŵr Cymru oherwydd ei fodel busnes unigryw a'i ymdrechion i gyflwyno gwasanaethau gwell i'w gwsmeriaid. Mae cystadleuwyr eraill yn y categori hwn yn cynnwys Pembrokeshire FRAME, menter gymdeithasol ac elusen ailddefnyddio dodrefn sy'n cynnig profiad gwaith i bobl anabl a phobl sydd wedi'u heithrio yn Sir Benfro, a 4CG, sefydliad adfywio'r gymuned a sefydlwyd i gefnogi ystod o fentrau i gadw arian yn cylchredeg yn economi leol Aberteifi.

Roedd Derek Walker, Prif Weithredwr Canolfan Cydweithredol Cymru, wrth ei fodd gydag amrywiaeth ac ansawdd y ceisiadau a gafwyd eleni.

"Unwaith eto, rydym wedi cael ymateb gwych i'r Gwobrau Mentrau Cymdeithasol. Mae ansawdd y ceisiadau'n gwella bob blwyddyn ac mae'n arbennig o galonogol gweld cymaint o enwebiadau o safon ar gyfer ein Gwobr Ysbrydoli Ieuenctid newydd sy'n awgrymu bod pobl ifanc ledled Cymru'n cydnabod potensial y ffordd fenter gymdeithasol o weithio.

"Mae mentrau cymdeithasol a mentrau cydweithredol yn fodelau busnes hyfyw a llwyddiannus a all gefnogi cymunedau hyfyw, creu swyddi a thwf ac mae'n wych gweld rhai o'r enghreifftiau gorau o hyn yn cael eu cydnabod ar y rhestrau byr eleni."

Noddir Gwobrau Mentrau Cymdeithasol Cymru gan Gyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy. Landsker Business Solutions sy'n noddi'r categori 'Seren y Dyfodol', mae Unity Trust Bank yn cefnogi'r categori 'Hyrwyddwyr Menter Gymdeithasol', gyda Syniadau Mawr Cymru yn noddi 'Ysbrydoli Menter Ieuenctid'. Y diwrnod canlynol, bydd Glasdir yn croesawu Cynhadledd Mentrau Cymdeithasol Cymru 2014, pan fydd cynrychiolwyr o fentrau cymdeithasol ledled Cymru'n dod ynghyd i drafod ei themâu 'Addysg, Dysgu a Thwf'.

Bydd y gynhadledd yn ymdrin â nifer o bynciau llosg sy'n wynebu mentrau cymdeithasol yng Nghymru: twf a datblygiad; codi proffil a chyfathrebu; a'r angen i ysbrydoli cenhedlaeth newydd o entrepreneuriaid cymdeithasol. Cynhelir y Gynhadledd a'r Gwobrau gan y Prosiect Cymorth i Fentrau Cymdeithasol, sy'n gyfrifol am hybu a datblygu menter gymdeithasol yng Nghymru. Ariannir y prosiect gan Gronfa Datblygu Rhanbarthol Ewrop a Llywodraeth Cymru.