On Thursday 12th March, eight social enterprises gathered at Impact Hub London Euston to mark the end of a six-month journey, share what they had built, and celebrate what comes next.
Six months ago, eight early-stage social enterprises walked into the Together for Wellbeing programme with bold ideas and big questions. Last Thursday evening, they walked into Impact Hub Euston to celebrate what they had built, share what they had learned and find out who had won the different awards. It was an evening full of honest reflection, genuine community and real reason for optimism.
The celebration event brought together the full cohort alongside mentors, ecosystem partners, funders and supporters for an evening of showcase presentations, collective visioning, and a winner announcement. The room was catered by 9Kitchens, a social enterprise and alumni of Impact Hub London’s Resilience programme, with treats from Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise that empowers women facing barriers to employment, and gifts from NemiTeas, another Impact Hub London alumni. The event embodied what Impact Hub London is about: a community where social enterprises support each other, not just in the room but at the table.
The Cohort
The eight organisations that completed Together for Wellbeing are working across a remarkable range of approaches to preventative mental health, from sport and arts to technology, community organising, and holistic health. Each one is rooted in a community, and each is tackling the systemic factors that shape wellbeing long before crisis hits.
- UFFO Athletic and Leisure Group
- She Believes She Can CIC
- Unity Matters CIC
- CoCreate Hackney
- Asian Community Concern
- Atypify
- Quest Soul Theatre CIC
- The Healthy Key
You can read about the cohort here.
Across the six months, this cohort participated in workshops on sales strategy, branding, theory of change, bookkeeping and AI, alongside ecosystem talks on team building, income diversification, and storytelling. They received over 105 hours of one-to-one mentorship and expert support from more than 20 mentors and advisors, as well as monthly check-ins with the Impact Hub London team and a peer community that, by all accounts, became something genuinely meaningful.
Snapshot Moments from the Evening
The evening closed with the announcement of the Together for Wellbeing programme winners, voted for by a panel and by the public audience in the room.
- Best Pitch: She Believes She Can CIC / Cynthia Kesington
- Runner Up: Atypify / Carole McNally
- Public Choice: Quest Soul Theatre CIC / Mercedes Yearley
Investing for Good
She Believes She Can CIC, founded by Cynthia Kesington, works to build confidence, leadership, and self-belief in women and girls. Her pitch was described as compelling, clear, and deeply human. Cynthia has been one of the programme’s most vocal advocates for the transformation that comes with taking the time to think like a leader, not just a founder.
Our runners up were Atypify – which aims to make IT, tech and digital pathways accessible to neurodivergent minds – provided a brilliant pitch on how they can help to make neurodivergent individuals feel less isolated.
The Public Choice Award, voted for by everyone in the room, went to Quest Soul Theatre CIC, whose work uses the arts to explore mental health and build community connection.
Together for Wellbeing was made possible through the support of Postcode Innovation Trust, funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Their investment enabled Impact Hub London to design and deliver a programme that did not just train social entrepreneurs but genuinely accompanied them through one of the hardest stages of building something new.
The Together for Wellbeing cohort is now a community of eight organisations that know each other, trust each other, and are beginning to collaborate. That is not a small thing. In a sector where founders often operate in isolation, the relationships built over six months at Impact Hub London have the potential to outlast the programme itself.
A Special Thanks to our Suppliers
The celebration event was made possible with the support of these brilliant social enterprises.
- 9Kitchens provided the evening’s catering. A social enterprise and alumni of Impact Hub London’s Resilience programme, 9Kitchens creates employment and skills training opportunities through food.
- NemiTeas, another Impact Hub London alumni, provided gifts for guests. NemiTeas produces hand-blended artisan teas with a commitment to wellbeing and sustainability.
- Luminary Bakery brought the baked goods. Based in East London, Luminary empowers women who have faced significant barriers to employment through baking, training, and community.
