Bristol24/7 is a community interest company. That means that we reinvest our profits into making Bristol a better place. We have provided over £20,000 of free marketing to local charities, we offer work experience and internship placements to young people, we partner with Square Food Foundation on ‘How to be a Chef’, inspiring the next generation of chefs and employ a cohort of community reporters. We spoke to Community Reporter Editor Charlie Watts about how Bristol24/7 makes a positive impact.
Why is community reporting important in your local area?
To me, it means giving a platform to these things going on in Knowle West that you don’t otherwise hear about. Knowle West has got a really strong sense of community. It’s those stories that don’t get told. Usually it’s all about crime, deaths etc but you don’t hear about the activities that are going on, all the events.
What was it like doing work experience with Bristol 24/7?
Our work experience scheme has won awards in the past. I did a mix of everything, news stories, listings, previews of events. They send you out covering stories. I’ve done other work experience where I spent the whole week in the office adapting press releases – which is boring! It’s good to get as much work experience as you can but Bristol24/7 was the one that I enjoyed the most.
Why is Bristol24/7 important to those looking to realise their career ambitions?
It’s shown what I’m capable of and helped me get my current role. My stories have been picked up by other platforms, such as the BBC. The Young Chefs project run in collaboration with the Square Food Foundation delivers practical qualifications, invaluable experience and has directly led to several graduates gaining permanent employment in the industry. We’ve been running that programme for a few years now and it’s really nice when you talk to the young people and hear about what their passions are and how the programme is helping them get their foot in the door. Also, several of our work experience placements have gone on to study journalism and work for national newspapers, such as Osob Elmi who is now working for the BBC.
Read the full Q&A with Charlie here.
Our full social impact report for 2021 can be found here.
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