Celebrating the 10th Flourish Mentor-a-thon: Fostering Collaboration and Success.
Last week marked a significant milestone for Flourish as we hosted our 10th Flourish Mentor-a-thon event in partnership with Sector 3 and Proper Good. The event brought together nine Stockport-based social ventures, including Make Build Grow, Drywave, Drawing Board Productions, High Vibes Crochet, The Village Web Company, Plastic Shed, and Twisted Trees, who each brought a challenge to a Sounding Board and pitched for investment.
For any of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Mentor-a-thon is a format that Flourish pioneered 10 years ago to serve as a means for social ventures to connect, collaborate, and tap into expertise from mentors in various fields.
Reflecting on the impact of Mentor-a-thons over the years, we discovered some remarkable statistics: out of the 130 individuals who accessed a Sounding Board session, 124 remain in contact with Flourish (95%), and an impressive 118 (91%) are still actively running their social enterprise activities and enterprises – a great testament to the long-lasting impact of the Mentor-a-thon and the enduring benefit of the connections made and support provided.
This Mentor-a-thon was particularly special as it marked our very first event at the newly opened Heaton Chapel Hub. Alongside the Sounding Board sessions, Flourish had the opportunity to benefit from our own troubleshooting session and gather valuable insights on preparing promoting the space as we gear up to fully open.
Huge thanks to all the mentors who generously gave their time to support this year’s event – their knowledge and guidance will greatly benefit the development and sustainability of mentees’ ventures. Thanks go to Claire Worthington (The Village Web Company), Beth Nunn (PIE), Brian (Cera Cycloan), Dawn Kelly (Actualise Coaching), Jen Samani (Make Build Grow), Louise Ball (Eleven Accounts), Mel Page and Amanda Fourie (Drawing Board Productions), Na Yu (Hopeful Studio), Nadia Ali (Make A Difference), Nicci Dickins (Profit for Purpose), Sharon Mayo (Stockport Council), Sharon Taylor (Paragon Print), and Simone Callaghan (The Goodness Collective).
As we approach our 10-year anniversary, we’ll be celebrating the achievements of those who have benefited from our support, so in November we will be hosting a special birthday event. Stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved… (or you can sign up to our newsletter to be kept updated)
