At a Glance
Location:
Cieszyn, Poland
Impact Area:
Labor Inclusion
People Supported:
Minorities, People with Disabilities, Refugees
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2018
Overview
The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Development Być Razem (“Being Together”) operates a multi-segment social enterprise, in addition to carrying out activities focused on vocational training and integrating people excluded from the labor force in Poland. Its businesses range from laundry and catering services to a carpentry workshop where products are crafted for the WellDone brand, which specializes in small interior design items made from wood.
In the firm belief that everyone deserves the chance to build a fulfilling career, Being Together runs comprehensive training and re-adaptation programs for marginalized individuals. It works alongside every candidate to create individual career paths and provide professional and social counseling. After building their skill sets, graduates are offered the opportunity to work in the Foundation’s social enterprise, as well as in the open job market.
Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Foundation co-founded the Cieszyn Social Committee to Aid Ukraine, formed by a cohort of recognized local entities. The cooperation provides refugees with basic needs assistance, supports their settlement, and connects them with the local job market.
Results & Impact
324
people from excluded groups supported in 2022
260
people from excluded groups received vocational training in 2022
157
jobs for refugees by 2027
“Our activities and the social enterprise we run are the result of over twenty years of work dedicated to helping people affected by homelessness, addictions, inactivity, and rejection.”
NESsT Investment
Being Together joined the NESsT portfolio in 2018 and, with the help of an investment to improve the capacity of its laundry services, it increased the average size of its orders, attracted new clients, and boosted revenue by 28% while doubling the number of employees. During the Covid-19 crisis, NESsT supported the Foundation in sustaining operations and improving the laundry’s hygiene standards to meet new sanitary regulations, in addition to pivoting its catering services to offer takeaway options. As a result, the Foundation won a public tender to provide catering and laundry services to 115 homeless people within the Bielsko-Biala municipal support system, over two and three years respectively.
Alongside NESsT, Being Together has optimized its most profitable business line – its carpentry workshop – by developing a marketing strategy and launching an e-commerce site for international orders. This has not only meant an increase in the number of marginalized people its team trains, places, and employs, but has also enabled the Foundation to establish long-term business relationships with clients in Poland and abroad.
Being Together has made big contributions to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, providing more than 3,100 meals for refugees in Cieszyn, Poland, raising funds for shelter, essential items, and ambulance services, and sending volunteers to assist at food and clothing distribution points. Moreover, it has hired two refugee women in its catering business line and linked 15 refugees with the job market.
NESsT’s investment through the Refugee Employment Initiative will help Being Together to provide 250 refugees with vocational and soft skills training over the following five years, with a focus on the HoReCa, laundry, and woodwork sectors, among others. It will offer 3-month internships before linking refugees with the regional job market, with an expected success rate of integration of 60%. Additionally, it expects to create around 5–10 internal positions annually and will collaborate with regional governments to organize job fairs for refugees.