Winners
Comedius, brought to you by Michael Goodison
Location: Derby
Comedius is a big-picture project which aims to really engage the homeless and disadvantaged in live music, amongst other creative and performing arts. Their enterprise model involves selling and performing ‘The Buskers’ Album’ which features homeless service users performing their tracks, and has been produced in partnership with Derby University and local artists. Michael sees Comedius as a means of inspiring hope, creating real opportunities and realising the potential of people with experience of poverty, homelessness and social exclusion, by way of participation in Creative Industries and Sports related initiatives.
 Elev8 my style, brought to you by Stephanie Thomas
Location, Hackney, London
This enterprise runs from a street market stall and aims to have a dual function in being a retail outlet for artisan goods produced by homeless and disadvantaged people, as well as being staffed and managed by those affected by homelessness. The aim is to be a very practical progression route that has three components: creative development, self development and entrepreneur development. The skills Stephanie feels this enterprise can offer will empower those involved and provide real income alongside being a platform for talented undiscovered artists to sell their work.
 Candy Couture, brought to you by Beatrice Obianwu
Location: Harlesden, London
More than just a business enterprise, Candy Couture is going to offer training and experience to young homeless individuals. Beatrice aims to empower these individuals by giving them skills in the beauty industry, which will allow them to either become self-employed or to look for mainstream placements. It is a highly creative enterprise idea with a wide network of possible collaboration with other small businesses and projects, so that the trainees could join a hub of support and skill development opportunities.
 Suitcase Media, brought to you by James Connelly
Location: Balham, London
The lifestyle of a homeless individual may be chaotic but their birds-eye viewpoint on an area is both insightful, original and out-of-the-ordinary. Suitcase Media will start in Covent Garden as a tour application that tourists and visitors can download onto MP3s and mobile phones to see the area through the audio recording of a homeless resident. Operating out of a central office at St Mungo’s Endell St hostel, Suitcase Media will be a creative enterprise that aims to directly bridge the two social groups that visibly occupy Covent Garden; the homeless and the tourists. (Note: the recordings can also be pre-bought online)
 Squeaky Chains, brought to you by Nigel Hulme
Location: New Cross, London
Building on the success of the local community bike outlet ‘Bikeworks’ based in Tower Hamlets, Squeaky chains will operate a mobile bike repair service. It will focus on servicing schools, youth clubs and community facilities such as markets and libraries. Participants delivering the service will mostly come from a homeless or disadvantaged background and the aim will be for the enterprise to give them employment experience, to get them out about and healthy, and through ‘Bikewords and Squeaky Chains, to go onto expand the bike-maintenance business across London.
 Punch and Juicy, brought to you by Davina Roberts
Location: Harlesden, London
This innovative food and catering enterprise is building on the demand for juice stalls to provide a wide range of fruit juices, raw food and tasty meals. In particular, Punch and Juicy will provide healthy foods to service user organisations to offer a healthy fun alternative to people who are homeless and need to recover from substance abuse and physically poor health. The aim through Sparklers is to launch a healthy drinking campaign ‘YOU HAVE ONE LIFE, MAKE IT FRUITFUL’ to expand the enterprise and realise Davina’s vision to eventually have a mainstream catering company and permanent premises.
 From Pavement To Catwalk. brought to you by Donald Waugh
Location: London
This exciting project fuses London’s fashion industry with London’s homeless in a pioneering support programme and network to culminate in a fashion show masterminded by none other than Donald Waugh! Donald is no stranger to the high end world of fashion and film, having starred in Bugsy Malone as a child actor followed by an illustrious career in film, television and theatre spanning over 25 years. During this time however, he began on a downward spiral which eventually led to him losing his home and becoming a homeless alcoholic. Out of this comes his vision for ‘From Pavement to Catwalk’, which is to bring together professional fashion designers, jewellery designers and up and coming super models with homeless people, people sleeping rough and in hostels. By using the help of professionals within the fashion industry ‘From Pavement to Catwalk’ will mentor people that are struggling on the fringes of society and hopefully culminate in a fashion gala at London Fashion Week 2010 where all the participants will have a chance to display their creations and new found talents.
If you have any questions about Sparklers please contact us on: 0116 2994466 or howard@sparkchallenge.org.uk. |
