Showcase: Be All You Can CIC
Be All You Can, a community interest company and social enterprise based in the beautiful setting of Rigwood House in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, was established in 2009 with the aim of providing organisations and individuals in Tees Valley and the wider North East region with the opportunity to improve their lives, be it through the delivery of training, workshops or coaching, in a unique and relaxing environment, empowering them to realise their potential and be all they can.
The enterprise, conceived of by local entrepreneurs Sue Anderson and Bernie Parks, offers a wide range of business consultancy services to the voluntary and community sector, statutory bodies and fellow social enterprises, enabling them to realise their potential, including feasibility and development research, project management, community consultation, funding advice and pre-start and start-up enterprise support.
Be All You Can’s home, Rigwood House, also offers established enterprises an inspiring and relaxing meeting space in which they can conduct staff training and organisational development sessions, complimented by Be All You Can’s in-house trainers and facilitators and catering service, through which resident chefs prepare dishes using locally sourced, nutritious ingredients – perfect for keeping participants motivated and fuelled during training sessions. Rigwood House and its idyllic surroundings also provide a picturesque backdrop to a range of other events – the charming Victorian property acting as a perfect venue for wedding receptions, private dining, Christmas parties and networking events.
Yet, Be All You Can aims to go above and beyond organisations offering similar services, providing a range of therapies from beauty therapy to massage and aromatherapy, adding a unique aspect to any event an organisation holds at Rigwood House. “The idea is that, after a hard day’s training or as part of an event, businesses can offer their staff a relaxing massage or aromatherapy session – something we think makes Be All You Can stand out from other enterprises”, explains Sue Anderson. Be All You Can also plays home to the studios of photographer Stuart Brown, who is on hand to provide a bespoke service to clients, capturing events taking place at Rigwood House on film and offering a weekly photography class to local residents. This comprehensive event package is clearly appreciated by clients of the social enterprise, one of whom praised Be All You Can’s ‘warm and welcoming hosts who accommodate selflessly to ensure your time at Rigwood House is relaxed and enjoyable’.
What lies at the heart of Be All You Can, however, is giving back to disadvantaged communities – any profits generated from its core business activities are ploughed back into services and activities that benefit the local community. The social enterprise has an in-house trained Counsellor, Sue Dennis, who provides one-to-one counselling sessions for individuals. Be All You Can also offers the services of Frank Thompson, a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Emotions Freedom Technique Practitioner and Tutor, who provides smoking cessation, weight management and personal development courses, and Gary Martin, a Mediator and Conciliation Practitioner who offers a conflict resolution service for disputes within the work place, marital issues and victim/offender conflicts.
The enterprise also holds a range of events designed to advance the well-being of the local community, such as its weekly meditation, yoga and Tai Chi classes. Last November, Be All You Can played host to a well-attended, educational and entertaining Winter Wonderland event for local families, schools and parent and toddler groups from the Redcar and Cleveland area. Be Al You Can is also a founder and instrumental partner in the East Cleveland Community Development Group, who last year secured funding to refurbish parts of Destinations premises, a community Online centre, café and coffee shop that provides I.T. courses for local individuals and has recently become one of just 10 UK based Online centres to be awarded Community Media Beacon status, which highlights their success in supporting community media initiatives.
Tough a relatively new social enterprise, Be All You Can is working hard to attract new and repeat business. The enterprise strives to establish strong relationships with fellow social enterprises and support agencies both sub-regionally and region-wide to advance the social enterprise movement in Tees Valley, and will next month act as host to a collaborative social enterprise network forum organised between Be All You Can, the North East Social Enterprise Partnership, and Middlesbrough based Community Ventures Ltd that will explore issues faced by and pertinent to social enterprises in the Tees Valley region.
In the coming years, the enterprise is confident that its diverse range of services will enable it to whether the storm brought about by the recent recession, and aims to help more and more organisations, individuals and communities fulfil their true potential through the services Be All You Can provides.
Contact
Sue Anderson on 01287 622 955