Idea
Craft4Smiles is a social enterprise that delivers high quality paper crafting and mixed media courses, volunteering opportunities, and tutor training for adults aged 18 years and over. They reach out to those who are isolated or lonely, facing significant life challenges and/or experiencing mental health problems and anyone who wants to maintain/improve their wellbeing.
People
The Craft4Smiles C.I.C. team is comprised of people who have a deep understanding of issues relating to wellbeing and a passion for working with individuals and communities to improve it. They bring extensive experience of strategic and operational management in private and public sector organisations:
Fiona Adley, Co-Founder/Director has 35 years experience of mental health services strategy and delivery gained in public and voluntary/non-profit sectors and consultancy settings.
Gray Adley, Co-Founder/Director is an experienced paper/mixed media crafter, professional carer and teacher and has run his own craft shop.
Modestas Kavaliauskas, Director, is Programme Lead for mental health acute/crisis care commissioning, NHS England.
Michela Marchi-Bartollozi, Volunteer has participated in Craft4Smiles crafting activities for four years and is a trainee tutor.
Jim Mendoza, Volunteer is a senior public sector manager and estate agent.
Impact
Craft4Smiles aims to improve wellbeing through crafting and related activities. The organisation’s vision is that more adults will experience positive wellbeing and will have the skills, self-confidence, self-esteem, and skills they need to enable them to make a greater contribution to the communities in which they live and work.
Lead entrepreneur
Fiona Adley
Get in touch
Craft4Smiles believes in the benefit to wellbeing of all creative activity. The organisation helps people to find and develop their creative abilities. This includes those who have lost confidence in the creativity they previously demonstrated. As part of their development, they are working in partnership with Illuminate Charity to build a collaboration of small creative organisations that have grown from individuals’ own experience of finding and re-finding their confidence and passion for creative activity and improving wellbeing so that is accessible to both those who want to improve their wellbeing and to those working with them.
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