Independently owned international multi-family office, Stonehage Fleming, has entered into partnership with Thrive Jersey to support GROW, a community-led initiative aimed at addressing multiple social issues that drive low mood and disengagement within the Jersey community.
GROW is an inclusive outdoor community project that plants, nurtures and harvests the widest array of fresh produce to be distributed to those on the island who do not have ready access to nutritional food. It provides innovative wellbeing, education and employment opportunities within an outdoor environment, whilst championing issues such as climate change, sustainable transport and community nutritional deficit.
Thrive Jersey’s ethos is based on a collaborative approach to resolving community issues and in time aims to be mapped through initiatives including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), and GROW aligns to no fewer than eleven of the seventeen goals.
According to the Jersey Statistics Unit, approximately 26 percent of all households and 23 percent of individuals were in relative low income, including over half of single parent families, one in three working-age adults, one in three children and one in three pensioners. This has a direct impact on the affordability of fresh fruit and vegetables which in turn leads to poor physical health, obesity and low self-esteem.
Guy Gilson, a partner at Stonehage Fleming, said: “We are delighted to support Thrive Jersey’s GROW initiative and its mission to demonstrate how community, parishes and government can join together to implement inspiring and inclusive solutions to social issues. It is a pleasure to support such a worthy cause, and one which resonates so well with Stonehage Fleming’s social capital. We commend Andy on his vision for the welfare of those on the island.”
Andy Le Seelleur, co-founder of Thrive Jersey, added: “Jersey is facing an unprecedented crossroads in social development as a result of a number of internal and external threats including climate change, population growth, physical and mental health, Covid-19, reductions in agricultural green space and nutritional deficits within the lower socio-economic demographic.
"For many whose mood is low, the priority is more on surviving than thriving. GROW is an innovative project aimed at tackling Jersey’s social issues and we thank Stonehage Fleming for all their support to help influence positive change.”