Dog’s life – Dan Makaveli’s dog, Diego, is
the inspiration behind the name of a new
coffee shop planned for Sunderland.
Diego’s – drawings show how
the new coffee shop may look.
Dan said: “The idea behind businesses
commissioning a social enterprise for work
is that it is a great way for them to support
a community while at the same time
getting something back from it and a more
mutually beneficial exchange as opposed to
a donation.
“If you’re looking for production of a
video, an animation, a website designed, or
almost any service that can be considered
'digital', you know that by hiring us,
you’re directly helping to provide essential
training and education for people who
need it most.
“These are individuals who may have
fallen through the cracks of society for any
one of numerous reasons.
“Our beneficiaries are often diagnosed
with a serious mental illness; some have
a learning disability and/or autism, and
perhaps other physical health issues that
have contributed towards keeping them
out of the workforce for a long time – the
vast majority of our learners are desperate
to learn new skills and make a positive
contribution to society.
“It's our job to help them along this
sometimes very challenging pathway.”
Media Savvy seeks neither donations nor
charity but, instead, a working relationship
with local businesses to the benefit of both.
And using their services certainly does
not mean settling for an inferior service,
just for the sake of burnishing community
credentials.
More than that, Dan and the team at
Media Savvy will be putting their money
where their heart is with the launch of
a coffee shop in their premises at 27/28
Norfolk Street, Sunniside.
At the time of Wear Business going to
print, planning permission had just been
given for renovations to create a new coffee
shop, Diego’s.
The coffee shop with licensed bar
will provide volunteering, training and
employment opportunities for individuals
dealing with multiple, complex barriers,
who will, in turn, be able to build their CV
in three-month to year-long spells before
making way for others in need to take
their place – ideally leaving with a glowing
reference in hand.
“If you’re looking for
production of a video,
an animation, a website
designed, or almost
any service that can be
considered 'digital', you
know that by hiring us,
you’re directly helping to
provide essential training and
education for people who
need it most."
Dan said: “We’re hoping to partner
with local cafes, bars and restaurants
so that people can prove themselves at
Diego’s, build their CV and then find
employment at companies who can see the
value in supporting what we’re trying to
achieve. Importantly we want a candidate's
successful time with us to act somewhat
as risk mitigation for potential long-term
employers.”
The plans will see the ground floor units
of the buildings converted into a coffee
shop with alterations to create a new
attractive shop front.
And once up and running the coffee
shop will be 80-90% staffed by former
learners at the organisation.
Diego's would also provide bespoke
employment and mentoring programmes
as part of their socially added value.
In that way, Media Savvy aims to tackle
the ‘employment gap’ faced by some
businesses.
For the company, this new initiative
is another way of tackling the challenges
faced by those who are marginalised and
come from vulnerable, forgotten about
communities.
“We have nearly 10 years behind us
building a successful social enterprise and
the one consistent issue that has frustrated
the team is the lack of realistic progression
opportunities available for many of the
individuals we work with,” said Dan.
“We want to tackle this by offering
these opportunities and partnering with
established local employers to create a
working model which we hope will help
directly address this employment gap faced
by many of our learners, which is sure to be
further exacerbated post-Covid.
“We guarantee there has been nothing
like this in Sunderland before and we are
determined to make this business pivot
a huge success, perhaps even becoming a
model suitable to be replicated elsewhere.”
Businesses can support this initiative,
too.
Dan added: “We would really appreciate
their support as we get closer to launching
and there will be lots of corporate
sponsorship opportunities. Keep an eye on
our social media channels and watch this
space.”
wear.business – the voice of business for the Wear region | 35