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This year, Causeway: Ireland Scotland Business Exchange is proud to be supporting and fundraising for Social Bite at our forthcoming Gala Black Tie Celebration of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland Awards Night, that is taking place at Assembly Rooms Edinburgh on 7 October 2021.
Social Bite began as a sandwich shop on Rose Street in Edinburgh in 2012 and has grown to become a key player in ending homelessness in Scotland and beyond. Every day the charity welcomes people experiencing homelessness to their cafes for free-food, and over the years has also received visits from Hollywood superstars, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Social Bite is one of the largest distributors of free fresh food to homeless people in the UK, annually providing over 140,000 items of food and hot drinks. In response to the recent pandemic, more than 800,000 emergency food packs and essential items were distributed.
At the heart of the organisation remains a passion for empowering people to transform their own lives, with one in 3 of Social Bite’s staff coming from a background of homelessness.
Social Bite’s 2017 and 2018 Sleep in the Park events raised almost £8 million and saw more than 18,000 people sleeping out. The funds raised saw the Edinburgh Social Bite Village become a reality in May 2018. The charity also launched a nationwide program to bring 830 rough sleepers off the streets into their own accommodation, with over 500 people now in homes of their own with tailored support.
This year Social Bite plans to replicate its Social Bite Village project in two new cities, targeting Glasgow and London. Find out more >
The Social Bite Fund (SC045232) is a registered charity in Scotland which remains committed to alleviating homelessness and poverty through pioneering projects.
To tell us more about the valuable and vital work Social Bite undertakes throughout the UK, we had a chat with Natasha Clarke, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Social Bite.
What does it mean for you for Social Bite to be this year’s chosen charity for the Causeway Awards?
We are thrilled to be chosen as this year’s charity for these prestigious Awards! At Social Bite, much of our work supporting those in a situation of homelessness has come from building brilliant relationships and trusted partnerships with businesses that share our values and want to put an end to homelessness. We just couldn’t achieve this all on our own. It’s a real honor to be this year’s chosen charity, especially for Causeway who truly represent the power of collaboration and connecting with others.
Why is it so important that people help support Social Bite?
Throughout the past year, we have all suffered and struggled with on-going uncertainty and insecurity. At Social Bite, we have had the privilege to stand alongside some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and support them through the provision of food, shelter, and community. During the pandemic, thanks to the generosity of people across the country, we distributed over 800,000 food packs and essential items to those who needed it most.
It’s important to support our work because, despite the devastation of the past year, we are more hopeful than ever that change is possible; we have witnessed people coming together in ways previously unheard-of, and we have seen councils, governments, and key decision makers move at a pace never seen before.
Can you tell us more about your latest fundraising campaigns?
2021 saw Social Bite move away from the Sleep Out events we’ve become so renowned for. This year, we launched our first every charity cycling event, with none other than the Olympic legend – Sir Chris Hoy. On September 5th, Social Bite and Sir Chris invited the nation to help us ‘Break the Cycle’ of homelessness, by cycling 60 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh and raising funds to build two more Social Bite Villages.
See over 500 riders taking part in the event here >
What is a Social Bite village?
A Social Bite Village is an innovative, highly supportive community for up to 20 people affected by homelessness at any one time. The purpose of the project is to bring vacant land back into use and to build a village with beautiful, prefabricated housing and a community hub. Our Village in Edinburgh launched in 2018, and we plan to build two more; one in Glasgow and the other in London.
You can learn more about the Village project here >
How can people help support this project?
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Our target fundraising amount to achieve two new Villages is a total of £1 million. To date, through our Break the Cycle fundraising event, we’ve managed to raise over £700,000. With your support, we can get closer to this target and make the villages a reality!
To donate, visit ww.breakthecycle.co.uk
Cyrenians are friends of our Causeway network and won our Causeway Social Impact Award in 2020. Can you tell us more about Social Bite’s partnership with Cyrenians and the Social Bite Village?
Cyrenians are an amazing charity partner of ours. They provide a highly skilled and experienced staff and volunteer team at the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh. They help to cultivate an active and highly supportive community environment. Their team are crucial in providing positive role models to residents, running a health and wellbeing programme as well as being a consistent and supportive presence on site.
We’re also working with Cyrenians supports staff to co-design the new villages and improve the initial model built in Edinburgh. Our aspiration is for the two new villages to be built and the first residents welcomed by the end of 2022.
What is the biggest challenge of working for a charity like Social Bite?
The biggest challenge is separating your work for the charity with your home life. Every single person working for Social Bite has chosen to do so because they are incredibly passionate about the work we do and the positive change we’re making for those experiencing homelessness. The challenge is taking a step back, recharging, and prioritising time away from the work we do - when your know there’s always more to be done!
What’s the most rewarding thing about working with Social Bite?
The most rewarding thing is knowing everyday our work is having a positive, long-term, sustainable impact on peoples lives. Our projects ending homelessness are not short-term fixes – instead, we are changing the way we tackle this issue and contributing to a future where there is no homelessness. There’s nothing more rewarding than when you get to hear directly from those we’ve helped to get their lives back on track – a great example of this is a recent chat we had with Dana, a previous Social Bite Academy member,
here’s her story >
Causeway is proud to be supporting and fundraising for Social Bite at our Causeway Awards 2021. On the evening, there will be opportunities to give online donations to their fundraising campaigns and to take part in a charity raffle.
Many thanks to all who have donated prizes.
Raffle Prizes so far include:
An Eternity Diamond Ring, valued at £1,089, kindly donated by
Chupi A gift pack of three Rock Rose Gins from Dunnet Bay Distillers (Pink Grapefruit Old Tom Gin: Citrus Coastal Edition; Original Rock Rose Gin), donated by Envision Management Consultants
A bottle of Bushmills Port Cask Reserve - Steamship Collection Single Malt Whiskey, kindly donated by
Smith Scott Mullan
If your business is interested in donating a prize and supporting our charity fundraising raffle, we'd love to hear from you!
Please get in touch at events@causewayexchange.net