Page 8 - NMEA Annual Report 2019-2020

Section 2
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT CREATION
2019-20 NWMINEA- WACorTkIVInITNYewREryPORT
Social media workshop
We helped Kilkeel-based Made in Mourne to organise a trade visit to New York & Washington. During the year we developed a productive working relationship with the muslim community in the district. Stephen McClelland was a guest at the 2019 Eid celebration organised by the Belfast Islamic Centre.
The SENMD team participated in the Community Helpline effort
in the district in the early weeks of the Covid19 pandemic working with partners to distribute food and other resources to the community. Since March 2020 we have focused our effort on assisting social enterprises to adapt their services to respond to the Covid 19 crisis helping them to put plans in place to deliver hot food, mental health online support, fruit & veg boxes, online fitness and counselling support.
We estimate that 1,000 people in the District benefitted from the services delivered by these social enterprises during 2019/2020. The organisations we supported included Camp Gullion Mullaghbawn, ADHD Hub Newcastle, Moneydarragh Community Hub Attical, Acquaculture Initiative Downpatrick, Newry Therapy Centre, L&J Youth Media Killough, Peak Health & Mind Camlough, Fit Club Bessbrook, Forkhill Playgroup, Sir Hans Sloane Centre Killyleagh, Light Theatre Company Rostrevor, The Little Bearded Baker Ballynahinch, Newry Traditional Music School, Elios Centre Newry, Centred Soul Newry, Newry.ie Newry, Polish Community School South Down, Clonduff Developments Hilltown, Dundrum Wellbeing Centre, Downpatrick FC, The Soma Collective Castlewellan, Yellow Road Social Farm Hilltown and the Willie Malley Legacy Group Newry.
SENMD also worked in partnership with a number of organisations to promote the value of the social enterprise ‘model’ more widely across society including: Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, the SH&SCT Trust, the County Down Rural Community Network, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, Social Enterprise NI, and the Social Farming Support Service (DAERA).
The value of all of this work was recognised during the year when in March 2020 the SENMD Programme won the NILGA Best Enterprise Initiative Northern Ireland for 2019/20 and on the back of that accolade the Programme has been nominated for the UK Best Enterprise Award.
2.4 NM&D Business Growth Programme
NMEA and Down Business Centre together with private sector business support consultants, Full Circle Ltd, has provided support to 165 businesses (71 of which were from the Greater Newry Area) under the Newry Mourne and Down District Council – funded Business Growth Programme since 2018. This Programme will run until December 2022. Liam Quinn delivers the NMEA elements of the Programme.
2.5 Collaboration with Newry Mourne and Down District Council
Under the auspices of a 12-month Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Newry Mourne and Down Council and NMEA
and Down Business Centre to support ‘economic regeneration initiatives’ in the District, work began on a survey of vacant property in Ballynahinch and on a community consultation exercise in five villages in the District to identify public realm improvements which people living and trading there wanted to see prioritised. Those villages were: Bessbrook, Rostrevor, Castlewellan, Saintfield and Killyleagh.
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Best Enterprise Initiative Winner 2020
Ideation Workshop
Supporting the Newry Mourne and Down town and village regeneration strategy.