Michelle Sharp leads Kilmarnock Ventures in Christchurch, New Zealand, which provides employment, training and qualifications to people with intellectual disabilities. Inspired by the people she works with every day, she maintains she has “the best job in the world” and that New Zealand can lead by example, to create a world that values diversity. This […]
‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments but woven into the lives of others.’ Pericles – elected Strategos of Athens, 494-429 BCE These words were said by Pericles during his leadership of Athens, when his city was left in ruins after the devastating Peloponnesian War. His guidance came at a […]
Kilmarnock Enterprises is already diverting tonnes of soft plastic waste from landfills. Source: 1 NEWS
First published on Stuff.co.nz written by Jo Taylor-De Vocht OPINION: Each year I tell myself “this is the year I will keep my Christmas consumption minimal”. I diligently put together a tidy little spreadsheet detailing the limits of my excess, and then equally diligently, put it out of my mind as I gradually slide into […]
First published on Stuff.co.nz and in Christchurch Mail by Monique Steele When he was at school, Bradley Holt was bullied by his peers because of his intellectual disability. His teacher told him he wasn’t worth teaching; he would never get a job or be able to support himself. Now, he has a full-time job working […]
First published by Newstalk ZB A Christchurch company is asking for help in changing the lives of people with disabilities. Kilmarnock enterprises has been running a pilot programme, helping employees gain NZQA qualifications. CEO Michelle Sharp says they have been funding the courses themselves through income from their factory, but they need 50-thousand dollars […]
ANNA WATSON Kilmarnock Enterprises believes in a world that values diversity. It is changing attitudes towards disability through education, employment, and opportunity. It has just launched a campaign that is going full throttle on its social mission of empowering people with disabilities to lead purposeful and dignified lives: the Kilmarnock Academy. People with an intellectual […]
The rise of the social enterprise by Sally Blundell / 21 November, 2017 A new breed of business, the social enterprise, is more intent on benefiting the community and protecting the environment than on maximising profit. It was a eureka moment, though it played out not in a bath, but in the shower. University of Canterbury biology […]
Video- Kilmarnock Heart Meet the Kilmarnock Team as we move into our new Basecamp in Wigram, Christchurch
‘Every day I see something that makes me proud’: The toymaker who runs a social enterprise By Michelle Sharp September 11, 2017 Michelle Sharp was a corporate go-getter, working for Vodafone before co-founding a successful tech company. But the Kilmarnock Enterprises CEO says she found her path to happiness when she stepped off the business […]