A SOCIAL enterprise in Chelmsley Wood has won an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Society’ award from the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.
Gro-Organic was commended for the opportunities it provides to a broad section of the Solihull community who require additional support.
This includes providing young offenders or people at risk of offending with routes to education employment or training through community landscaping projects.
It trains participants to transform redundant plots of land into community gardens, growing food which is harvested and given to families who are living in poverty.
Gro-Organic also support people with a mental health diagnosis or learning disability to improve their mental and physical wellbeing through gardening and woodland skills.
Its ‘Wellies2Bellies’ schools initiative has seen over 20 schools in Solihull benefit from school garden transformations in the last year.
This equates to over 1,000 children learning skills in food growing, harvesting and cooking.
Gro-Organic was presented the award by West Midlands mayor Andy Street.
Chief Sarah Gill stated: “There was some very strong competition. We were up against some extraordinary businesses, so it was a real surprise for us and an achievement that we are extremely proud of”.
Meriden MP Dame Caroline Spelman who formerly opened the service when it was first commissioned by Solihull Council Public Health has visited every year since for the annual garden party.
Dame Caroline stated: “Gro-organic has done a great job in my constituency in helping to regenerate a housing estate built in the 1960s.
“They have taught gardening skills to residents who have then gone on to sustain themselves, making a living out of helping others.”
Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: “Gro-Organic is doing brilliant work in Chelmsley Wood, training young people who are at risk of falling into crime to give them both skills and aspiration for their future.”
