Yoga for cooped-up kids gets a boost with Big Issue funding

When Christina Cran received a life-changing diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, she noticed her son showing signs of anxiety. Realising the need to help him, she had the idea for Wee Seeds – a social venture providing mindfulness resources for children in Scotland.

Now, after a pandemic hit the wellbeing of millions of cooped-up kids and gave Cran’s work an even greater importance, Wee Seeds is among a handful of businesses to benefit from £200,000 of investment from The Big Issue

Big Issue Invest – the investment arm of The Big Issue – is providing the money to four social enterprises in Scotland, all of which aim to improve lives, through the Power Up Scotland programme.

Wee Seeds provides mindfulness and meditation for young children – including balloon breathing and garden yoga.

“The loan from Big Issue Invest will enable us to work towards that shift, power up our business ambitions, help future generations deal with the impact of Covid, and plant the seeds of positive mental health in our young people,” founder and CEO Cran said.

Ayrshire Women’s Hub, which began life in 2018, supports women and families in Ayrshire, with women providing support. It specialises in helping with domestic violence, mental health, grief & loss, benefits, and social isolation.

National Support Network, founded in 2022, already has over 2,300 support resources in its database. With its message “change lives by signposting support”, the organisation has managed to help 45 volunteers into new jobs.

Brave Strong Beautiful uses money from its hair salon to provide counselling and workshops for young people’s mental health. Its mission is to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into work, supporting them along the way.

All four will now benefit from the extra funding, enabling them to grow and continue helping others.

Run by Big Issue Invest in partnership with abrdn, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places for People, and the Scottish Government, the Power Up Scotland scheme also provides advice and support.

The scheme is targeted at social ventures in the early stages of existence – when funding and support can be more scarce.

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “The work these social ventures do in their communities makes a real difference and it has been an honour to help them take this further.”