A first for Malta, the Social Impact Awards will be held on October 25 at the Hilton Malta, St Julian’s. The initiative aims to bring the private and non-profit sectors together to offer opportunities for financial and non-financial support to develop and see to fruition a project that will have a positive social impact on Malta.
After an overwhelming number of applications received back in July, seven have been shortlisted for the final event. This initiative aims to give more opportunities to social-purpose organisations and their projects and to create a platform for new philanthropic ideas. The awards will recognise non-profit organisations and individuals who submit innovative, social projects that can solve some social issues for Malta.
The seven shortlisted finalists have also received non-financial support in the shape of mentoring services by some of the movers and shakers within Malta’s business community to help develop the projects.
These awards are the fruits of a collaboration between Maltese businesses and company foundations which have raised €70,000 collectively to donate as grants to the best and most effective submissions.
The projects cover a wide range of social issues, from walk-in centres for women involved in street-based prostitution to a project on suicide and self-harm prevention to fighting obesity and inactiveness within school children.
The philosophy behind the awards is that the private sector could create more impact and social change by mentoring and creating long-lasting relationships with social purpose organisations in Malta. It takes more than money to create social change. These organisations need to be effective and efficient first in order to generate and scale social change.
All finalists will present their project to a selected panel of judges and an audience of philanthropists, professionals and corporate leaders who could potentially offer further support, whether financial or non-financial.
“With these awards we hope to inspire people to give, give more and give smart,” said Inspirasia Foundation founder Mark Weingard. Anyone interested in attending these awards or even offer support to a project can find the awards on Facebook, contact louisa@inspirasia.org or visit www.socialimpactawards.inspirasia.org.
The finalists
Dar Hosea Walk-in Centre –
St Jeanne Antide Foundation
The project looks at women trapped in a life of street-based prostitution as victims of gender-based violence and hence offers them access to a range of supports, such as facilities to meet basic needs, guidance on self-care and self-development, sexual health education and harm reduction screening as well as social work support and non-formal education.
Soup Kitchen, Valletta –
Fr Marcellino
The project aims to create a soup kitchen in Valletta for vulnerable people including children, parents and the elderly, the homeless and jobless and those unable to find a job to decently due to the circumstances they currently find themselves in. The kitchen will cater for up to 80 people.
Step up for Parkinson’s –
Natalie Muschamp
The project’s concept is to establish ongoing dance courses in Malta focused on helping People with Parkinson’s (PWP). The project’s primary aim is to create an annual, two-week international training programme in Malta in which PWPs are monitored by specialists to further research within the field.
Suicide and self-harm prevention –
Crisis Resolution Malta
The project aims at setting up a 24/7 crisis line at suicide hotspots across Malta and Gozo to help save lives and creating a national crisis management course to help identify those at risk of mental illness and self-harm.
ASL (Active in Schools, Active in Lives) – Are You Active (Malta)
The obesity rate among our children is alarming. They are getting less physical activities. Consequently, this puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our health system. The project is aimed at providing kindergarten and primary school classes with an innovative game that will help kids become more active. Thanks to its easy-to-use approach, children will be engaged in physical activities as part of their daily lives at schools.
Watch Out project –
Victim Support Malta
This project aims to encourage community-building and social engagement at the grassroots level by setting up neighbourhood watch schemes, through the provision of specialised training. Project WO seeks to address the twin issues of crime and social disengagement through the establishment of neighbourhood watch schemes.
Pregnancy Outreach
(The Help Line) –
LifeNetwork Foundation Malta
The project aims to be there to counsel, advise and help women facing difficult situations related to pregnancies. The project aims to set up an institutional structure designed to guide and assist a woman facing a crisis pregnancy from the moment that the first call of help arises, through the term of pregnancy and the actual birth, to the earliest phases of the mother-child relationship.