This year, The Factory Skatepark in Scotland has been awarded the National Social Enterprise Award. What makes The Factory such an interesting place is their objective, which is to”support local communities through reducing social exclusion, improving educational attainment and encouraging young people to follow a healthy lifestyle”. They offer programs for youth such as homework help clubs, and “IT classes for the elderly”, all the while, focusing on extreme sports. In addition to providing services to the community, The Factory also hires solely from within it’s community, Balunie Drive. This enterprise is run by the community for the community, with the sole intent of bettering the lives of it’s residence.
This type of business could have mass potential in North America. It takes a popular sport that often has negative stereotypes and uses it to engage youth, while attempting to put them on the right life path. The Factory managed to take the extreme lifestyle out of the extreme sport, all the while turning it into a constructive resource in youth development.
15/11/12, “Dundee Skatepark wins national social enterprise award”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-20339565