Lunchtime Learning sessions at CityHive are a simple affair, designed to give you an injection of inspiration mid-day, mid-week:

• We start at 12:35 and finish at 13:25 so it fits within your lunch hour,
• Our guest presents for 20 minutes, then it’s open for questions, discussion and more,
• BYO lunch, and you can use our kitchen for prep and clean-up,
• Participation is for Pollinators members (you can join on the day), and we appreciate gold coin donations to cover venue costs,
• We’ve got THE BEST views in town and this is the most inspiring lunch you can have in Geraldton.

This week, Darrell Robinson and Tom Tolchard are our guests, and will speak on

“Social Enterprises – what are they, how do they work, and how can they benefit our region?”

Darrell and Tom are amongst the best qualified people in Australia to speak on this topic, with long experience in successful social enterprises and current roles supporting the growth of social enterprise across Australia within two leading organisations.

Darrell is Team Leader of Social Trader‘s ‘Social Enterprise Sustainability Project’, and brings to that role a diverse background of work in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors. Most recently, he was managing a Victorian Australian Disability Enterprise in which he was instrumental in transforming the organisation from a ‘sheltered workshop’ culture to a vibrant and quality-focussed member of the business community.

Prior to that, he was General Manager of SpiritWest Services, the community services division of the Western Bulldogs Football Club which involved turning a broken-down organisation into a viable and dynamic social enterprise with significant inputs into the local community through a broad range of activities.

Tom is Project Director at Social Innovation in Western Australia having previously spent the past two years in the development and running of a Social Enterprises called STREAT. He is genuinely passionate about the role of social innovation in the modern world and continues to bore people who are prepared to listen.

Tom qualified in Business Strategy, Project Management and Developing World Economics and has forged an international career across England, India, and most recently Australia. Tom is well-known within the Australian retail market and has enjoyed his career in helping retailers offer the very best product, secure the very best available people and work closely to understand the core wants and needs of their customer.