In the beginning, Who Made Your Pants? was me, an idea and a burning desire to do something useful.
It's now nine years - nine years! - since I came up with the name and the concept and seven years since I left my job in the public sector to set us up.
Setting us up took a lot of money. We delivered training - English, Employability and Sewing - for a year before we even tried to sell a pair of Pants. We had to pay rent on a space to train in, we had machines to buy, trainers to pay - I needed to be paid though back then it was a bit erratic! I tweeted about this recently and someone asked who funded us. And as I often get asked for advice on who might be a good place to approach, here's the list. They are in no particular order - we are enormously grateful to them all.
The Tudor Trust
John Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust - they are winding down and not accepting any more applications.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation/Comic Relief
BAA/Southampton Airport
The Allen Lane Foundation
Business Link
The Co-operative Fund
CDF Faiths in Action
European Social Fund
Lush Charity Pot
Salaam Project
Southampton Active Communities
Southampton University
UnLtd
West Itchen Community Trust
Co-operatives South East
Pfizer Foundation
And last but not least I won £10,000 last November in the Lloyds Social Entrepreneurs of the Year Award
We're now funded in part by our revenues and in part by investment. We are projecting being entirely funded by our own revenues in three years and WE CAN'T WAIT. We want to do this ourselves and we're so grateful that people can see that and want to help us get there. I believe firmly in the Big Issue principle of a hand up not a hand out - people are empowered through doing. YOUR support means we're getting there. THANK YOU.