Launching the Changing Places documentary

Since 2018 UnLtd have been working on the Resilient Communities programme with funding from Postcode Innovation Trust. Together we have been enabling social entrepreneurs to develop their impact in these communities: funding social business ideas, building collaboration, and providing access to investment, and opportunities to influence externally. 

We are proud to launch a film about the impact social entrepreneurs are making across four areas that UnLtd has been supporting thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery: North Staffordshire, the South Wales Valleys, Brighton and Dundee.  

The film series shows how each place and its unique assets lead to different ideas, formed by their environment. 

In Stoke-on-Trent Jake is using the canals as way to deliver nature-based therapy. In Brighton, having transformed a gym into a popular community hub, Tanya plays a crucial role connecting and supporting others in the area, creating a hub of local entrepreneurs. In Dundee, Kirsty and Danielle are taking advantage of two buildings that were overlooked to turn them into different community resources. In South Wales Janis, from Cynon Valley Organic Ventures, is providing education and employment opportunities to local people in a community garden as they develop the land. When she watched the film, she said, “it brought tears to my eyes, you have captured our values and mission perfectly.” 

These are just a few of the stories you will see. It’s also about what happens when people with great ideas find the right support. It’s about how social entrepreneurs connecting with each other build things that are truly amazing.  

Although this was produced well before Covid-19, these times have only shown how community-based ventures are incredibly valuable. With the blossoming of mutual aid groups and NHS volunteering, there is a terrific energy for supporting one another in our neighbourhoods. Many social entrepreneurs are pivoting, trying new things, responding to local need.