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Channel 4 Airtime for UnLtd Award Winners

Channel 4 Airtime for UnLtd Award Winners

Written by

Ruth Coustick-Deal

External Affairs Lead

For International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2019 Channel 4 teamed up with 3 social businesses which champion inclusive disability employment to advertise their products on national television.

Of the three social brands featured - Harry Specters, Beco and Ignition Brewery - two of them are UnLtd award winners. We are absolutely thrilled on their behalf. It is a huge achievement for them, and a recognition overall of the great work that social entrepreneurs do. These ads were aired on 3 December as part of Channel 4’s Disability Works campaign.

Harry Specters

Mona Shah in protective gear and blue gloves looks across at young man in similar outfit who is bending over and piping chocolates in the factory.

Along with husband Shaz, Mona founded Harry Specters; an autism-friendly workplace, dedicated to crafting award winning and delicious chocolates.

In 2015, the company joined our Big Venture Challenge programme where we gave them one-to-one support in forecasting and budgeting. In 2018 they received £150,000 and support from the Impact Fund, which they used to employ a marketing manager and purchase new machinery for chocolate-making. harryschocs.co.uk

Watch Harry Specters video here:

This #IDPWD2019 we are proud to partner with @AskNationwide to support @HarrySpecters – the Cambridge-based chocolatiers providing employment for their autistic son Ash, and for people like him. #DisabilityWorks #PurpleLightUp #Ad pic.twitter.com/ym8dJrUdwh

— Channel 4 (@Channel4) December 3, 2019

Ignition Brewery

Nick O'Shea set up Ignition Brewery, to give people with learning disabilities a job – actually a cool fun job making something that people love. His aim was to create something sustainable, something that could provide ten people plus reliable employment.

Now he has a talented and dedicated team of brewers, bottlers and salesmen. With start-up funding and support from UnLtd, Nick has moved in to large premises and how has his eye on scaling his venture further.

Watch Ignition Brewery’s video here:

This #IDPWD2019 we are proud to partner with @NatwestBusiness to support @ignitionbeer – the Sydenham-based brewery enabling people with learning disabilities to brew, bottle and serve their own beer whilst earning a living wage. #DisabilityWorks #PurpleLightUp #Ad pic.twitter.com/kKbu7TZEGZ

— Channel 4 (@Channel4) December 3, 2019

Getting national support from Channel 4 is a brilliant endorsement of all their work. It’s also a sign of the success that social entrepreneurs have on important social issues, and how their impact is getting national attention.

Last year UnLtd and Scope partnered to create our Closing the Disability Employment Gap programme to support more social entrepreneurs like Mona and Nick who have ideas for social purpose businesses that can offer disabled people quality jobs, training or access to work.

We have just welcomed 15 more people onto the programme this quarter and we hope they too can go on to receive great opportunities like this.