ACROSS Wales, a cultural movement of businesses giving back to their communities is taking place and tomorrow, shoppers and consumers are being encouraged to support them.

Social Saturday was started in Wales in 2013 by the Wales Co-operative Centre.

It is now run by the centre through the Social Business Wales project, with funding from Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund to support social enterprises.

In Gwent, a plethora of businesses, 208 in total, are listed as social enterprises and on Saturday, October 15, will be actively participating in the Wales-wide event, which is into its third year of existence.

Social enterprises are businesses but it’s what they do with their profits that makes them different.

The money they make is reinvested or donated to support social and environmental issues, from creating job opportunities to helping reducing poverty.

In the north of the region, there are 25 Blaenau Gwent businesses that will be involved in Social Saturday, including the award-winning Market Hall Cinema in Brynmawr.

One of Wales’ oldest cinemas, it doesn't only show the latest films at low prices but also provides opportunities for disadvantaged and disabled locals through employment and volunteering.

One volunteer who has particularly benefited from the services provided by the cinema is 25-year-old John Fennessy.

After struggling at school, not just academically but socially, he joined the cinema as a volunteer and calls it his second home.

Mr Fennessy said “A friend of mine introduced me to the cinema and I fell in love with it.

“Before volunteering here, I was a recluse. I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at a young age so I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my social skills.”

With the help of fellow volunteers and the cinema’s director, Peter Watkins Hughes the 25-year-old is now living independently and has gone back to his studies to support with his passion for cinema.

“The cinema has changed my life. It’s helped to build my confidence to the point I’ve gone back to school to study GCSE maths and English,” he said.

“I’ve also gained technical skills such as learning how to use the cinema projector. I’ve now got my own place and lots of new friends, including Peter who has been a great influence on me. He helped me to believe in myself again.”

Market Hall cinema was taken over by a group of locals following threat of closure in 2013 to continue its legacy as Wales’ oldest cinema.

Mr Watkins Hughes, Market Hall director said: “Much like John, the cinema has flourished in the face of adversity. Market Hall is run by the community for the community in one of the most culturally impoverished areas of Wales.

“As a social enterprise we can fulfil needs that can’t be serviced by commercial organisations who put their profits first as their main priority, we’re a registered charity and we live up to that. Everything we do is geared at helping the community.”

Social enterprises are businesses but it’s what they do with their profits that makes them different. The money they make is reinvested or donated to support social and environmental issues, from creating job opportunities to helping reducing poverty.

Tomorrow, the Market Hall Cinema will be showing the new and critically acclaimed documentary about The Beatles.

Seats and sweets will help towards upgrading the building and support activities such as dance classes, painting courses, music workshops and film making courses for the community.

In Blaenau Gwent, other businesses taking part will be Made in Tredegar and the Six Bells Regeneration among many others.

Across the valleys, 70 organisations in Monmouthshire and Torfaen, 25 in the former and 45 in the latter, will be encouraging residents to support their socially-run businesses and organisations.

All of the five Torfaen Leisure Trust locations will be supporting Social Saturday as well as the Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, and All Creatures Great and Small.

Into Monmouthshire, the Mustard Seed (This Way Up), Homemakers Community Recycling and the Monmouth Savoy Trust are among the 25 enterprises involved on October 15.

Newport has 34 social enterprises, including the Fourteen Locks Canal Centre and Newport City Cycles, as well the Penhow Village Shop and Pill Millennium Centre.

In Caerphilly, where the largest amount of businesses are involved, 79 enterprises from Inside Out Cymru at the Blackwood Miners Institute, to the Newbridge Memo and Bedwas RFC are participating on the day.

Rhian Edwards from Social Business Wales, one of the event organisers, said: “There are over 1,600 social businesses in Wales, from cafes and leisure centres to pubs and wildlife sanctuaries.

“The sector in Wales is worth £1.7billion and employs 38,000 people with the help of 38,500 volunteers.

“But that’s just the beginning - their profits go back into improving lives and tackling environmental issues. A cake bought from a community cafe could go back into helping a person with a disability gain employability skills.

“When you shop, dine out or go on a day trip to a social enterprise on Social Saturday, you will contribute to something much bigger. So I encourage everyone to go out and support their local social enterprises doing great things in the community.”

For a full list of enterprises taking part in Social Saturday, visit wales.coop/file/Directory-of-Social-Businesses-in-Wales.pdf.

Alternatively, a bespoke list for Social Saturday can also be found at socialsaturday.wales/get-involved/i-m-a-consumer.