Empowr CIC — Community Interest Company
Supporter Prospectus2025 – 2026
“Promoting lifelong wellbeing through the transformative power of experiential learning.”
empowrcic.org · Company No. 13660924
Our Mission
We exist on a simple belief
Empowr was founded in October 2021 by Jasmine and Shaun Barnett — though the idea behind it had been forming for some time before that. It began with a simple observation: across their communities were countless empty halls and unused spaces, sitting idle for most of the week. At the same time, a deeper question was taking shape — what truly contributes to lifelong wellbeing?
The answer kept pointing in the same direction. Real growth doesn’t happen in theory. It happens through experience — through doing, trying, and learning in motion. That became the founding principle of Empowr: to bring life back into unused community spaces by turning them into hubs of experiential learning.
Three years later, that belief has more than 10,000 attendances behind it. We deliver across community sessions, school programmes, holiday camps, and events — reaching children, young people, and adults across South East London and beyond.
Experiential learning is our method. Lifelong wellbeing is our mission. Skating — for now — is our medium.
The framework we have built is designed for far more than one activity. It is an infrastructure for community wellbeing — and it is growing.
What We Stand For
Four beliefs at the heart of what we do
Empowr is more than an organisation — it is a movement built on four core beliefs. They shape every session we design, every coach we train, and every partnership we build.
Wellbeing as a Way of Life
We support everyday habits and mindsets that build lasting health and joy — not one-off interventions. Wellbeing is something you live, not something you receive.
Community and Belonging
We create spaces where everyone feels valued and connected, united by authentic relationships and shared purpose. Belonging is one of the most powerful protective factors for long-term mental health, and we treat it that way.
Growth Through Learning
Transformation happens when people engage and experience. We help them grow through doing — not watching, not waiting. Every session is designed around the idea that learning lives in action.
Inclusion For All
Wellbeing is for everyone, at every age. No one is too old, too young, or too far behind to grow — every person has a place here.
The Need
A health crisis that prescriptions alone cannot solve
The UK is facing compounding physical and mental health challenges. One in four adults experiences a mental health problem each year. Physical inactivity costs the NHS an estimated £7.4 billion annually. Children and young people from lower-income backgrounds are disproportionately affected. And community connection — one of the most powerful protective factors for long-term mental health — is in decline.
Waiting lists treat the symptom. Empowr addresses the root.
When a person engages in a new physical, social experience — especially one that presents a manageable challenge — the brain forms new neural connections. Chronic stress, which accelerates cellular aging and weakens immunity, is reduced. Movement activates the body’s fascia system, supporting whole-body health. And shared activity creates belonging, accountability, and lasting wellbeing habits.
“Investing in experiential learning is not just a cultural or educational decision — it’s a smart, future-focused economic strategy.”
This is the principle Empowr was built on, and it is the case we now make to commissioners, funders, and government — supported by a growing evidence base.
How We Work
Three engines. One system.
Empowr did not start as a system. It started with one session — a skating jam in South East London, in February 2022. What we have built since has come from paying attention to what actually worked, and giving it structure. That structure now operates as three connected engines.
The Delivery Engine
We find and partner with venues, run skating sessions, workshops, lessons, events, and holiday camps, and deliver these through trained coaches and facilitators. This is what the community sees — but it is not the whole picture.
The Coach Development Engine
We recruit and train participants, volunteers, and community members through our Empowr Certified Coaching Programme (ECCP), creating pathways from participant to certified coach to programme leader. Our real asset is the growing network of people who can deliver Empowr experiences safely and sustainably.
The Support and Funding Engine
We generate income through commissioned delivery, government programmes, and participant-paid sessions. Alongside this, we seek funding and supporter investment — not to fund individual sessions, but to strengthen the whole system: more coaches, more spaces, more subsidised places.
The result is a flywheel:
Empowr secures support
Support funds capacity — coaches, venues, equipment
Capacity creates more sessions and more access
Sessions produce wellbeing outcomes and community trust
Outcomes produce evidence and public demand
Evidence attracts more support and partnerships
The system expands — more coaches, more locations, more lives
Our Impact
Three years of verified delivery
All figures are drawn from our CIC 34 annual reports, filed with the CIC Regulator.
The three-year picture tells the story of an organisation finding its shape. Year 1 was a proof of concept — 7,000 attendances, the launch of Empowr Champions, the first six partner organisations, and early evidence that 4 in 5 participants reported improved mental health. Year 2 saw consolidation rather than growth: 5,000 attendances, but also our first year as a commissioned DfE HAF provider, our long-term partnership with Bankside Open Space Trust, and our first international activation in Badalona. Year 3 was the year the model came into its own — 10,000 attendances, 428 sessions, 700+ hours of activity, more than 500 paid and volunteer opportunities created, and 100% year-on-year growth.
| Year | Attendances | Key Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (2022–23) | 7,000 | Empowr Champions launched. 6 partner organisations. 4 in 5 participants reported improved mental health. |
| Year 2 (2023–24) | ~5,000 | DfE HAF delivery. BOST long-term partnership. First international activation (Badalona). |
| Year 3 (2024–25) | ~10,000 | 428 sessions · 700+ hours · 500+ paid and volunteer opportunities created · 100% YoY growth. |
Active partnerships include:
Bankside Open Space Trust (BOST), Department for Education HAF (second year as commissioned provider), Lewisham Young Mayor’s Team, and five named venue partners across SE London.
All profits are reinvested. Directors deferred a portion of their own remuneration in Year 3 to preserve organisational liquidity and prioritise delivery.
Where We’re Going
Building a Health Activities Provider for the UK
We are building towards becoming a recognised Health Activities Provider in the UK — a legitimate health intervention that sits alongside clinical care.
The long-term vision: GPs and social prescribers referring people to Empowr sessions the way they refer people to physiotherapy or talking therapies. Social prescribing is already NHS policy. Our task is to be ready when that pathway expands.
In the near term
ECCP launch — Our Empowr Certified Coaching Programme converts participants into certified coaches, multiplying delivery capacity without proportionally increasing overhead. This is the infrastructure that makes national scale possible — and it is also the mechanism by which the Empowr ethos is preserved as the organisation grows. ECCP develops facilitators, not instructors.
EELA expansion— Skating is our current medium, but the EELA framework supports five sub-programmes: MoveWell (Movement & Wellness), MindWell (Mindfulness & Recovery), CreateWell (Creativity & Self-Expression), ExploreWell (Nature & Exploration), and ConnectWell (Collaboration & Growth). MoveWell is active. We are actively building the teams and partnerships to activate the rest.
Delivery hubs — Establishing permanent Empowr activity spaces in SE London and beyond, reducing venue dependency and increasing community access.
Evidence framework — Building a formal outcomes measurement system to support Social Return on Investment (SROI) reporting, enabling commissioner-grade funding applications and long-term government partnerships.
None of this is infrastructure for its own sake. ECCP, EELA, delivery hubs, the evidence framework — every piece is in service of one outcome: that more people, across more communities, have access to the experiences that support their wellbeing across a lifetime. Empowr is not designed around the session. It is designed around the person walking into the session, and the years of their life that follow.
How You Can Help
Three ways to invest in this mission
Commission Empowr
We deliver structured, evidenced experiential learning sessions for organisations with community wellbeing goals. Whether you are a school, local authority, housing association, NHS partnership, or wellbeing commissioner — we can design and deliver a programme for your community.
We are a proven DfE HAF provider with experience across South East London and a growing network of certified coaches. The question we are most often asked now is not whether we can run a session, but whether we can deliver outcomes for a community. The answer, consistently, is yes.
outreach@empowrcic.org →Partner With Empowr
If your organisation serves communities that would benefit from Empowr’s programmes — charities, CICs, youth services, community health organisations, sport and activity providers — we welcome partnership conversations.
We bring the sessions. You bring the community. Together we create outcomes neither of us could produce alone.
outreach@empowrcic.org →Support Our Mission
Empowr is a Community Interest Company. Every pound we receive is reinvested — training coaches, accessing venues, subsidising places, and building the infrastructure to reach more communities.
- –One-off or regular donation — via our Heroes platform at hero.empowrcic.org
- –Legacy gift — leave a gift to Empowr in your will and ensure your values outlive you. Even a small percentage of an estate can fund years of coaching training and community access.
- –Named support — sponsor a programme, a coaching cohort, or a season of sessions. We will recognise your contribution and provide a full impact report.
- –Corporate partnership — align your social value commitments with Empowr's delivery.
Get In Touch
We’d love to hear from you
Whether you want to commission a programme, explore a partnership, or discuss how to support our mission — the conversation starts here.
Empowr CIC
Crown House, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX
Company No. 13660924 · Registered Community Interest Company, England and Wales
General enquiries: outreach@empowrcic.org
Commissioning & partnerships: outreach@empowrcic.org
Legacy giving & major support: shaun.barnett@empowrcic.org (Shaun Barnett, Co-Founder and Executive Director)
Website: www.empowrcic.org
Donate: hero.empowrcic.org
Appendix A — Delivery Data
Year 3 Programme Breakdown (2024–2025)
| Programme Type | Attendances |
|---|---|
| Weekly Community Sessions | 3,815 |
| School-Based Delivery (Ivydale School, St Winifred's, BOST) | 3,540 |
| Holiday Programmes and HAF Camps | 1,185 |
| Roller Skating Events | 770 |
| Street Skate Programmes | 460 |
| Structured Courses (Sk8 Skool) | 160 |
| Birthday Parties | 80 |
| Total | ~10,010 |
Appendix B — Programme Framework
The EELA Framework
The Empowr Experiential Learning Activities (EELA) framework is the architecture every Empowr programme lives within. It is built on the established four-stage experiential learning cycle: people do (engage in purposeful, often novel activity), reflect (analyse the experience), conceptualise (draw general principles from what happened), and apply (transfer those insights to new situations). This is what allows movement to become wellbeing, and a single session to become a lasting shift.
Every EELA session is grounded in four principles: psychological safety, inclusion, meaningful challenge, and joy. These are not optional features. They are the conditions that make experiential learning actually work.
EELA operates as an umbrella across five sub-programmes, each with its own team and focus, all aligned to the same mission.
| Sub-Programme | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MoveWell Dynamic ways to improve physical and mental health through movement. | Movement & Wellness | Active |
| MindWell A space for relaxation and rejuvenation, nurturing inner peace, mental clarity, and physical flexibility. | Mindfulness & Recovery | Planned |
| CreateWell Exploring personal expression as a meaningful pathway to wellbeing. | Creativity & Self-Expression | Planned |
| ExploreWell Building fitness, teamwork, and a genuine connection with the natural world. | Nature & Exploration | Planned |
| ConnectWell Group challenges and interactive workshops that develop leadership, problem-solving, and strategic thinking through hands-on experience. | Collaboration & Growth | Planned |
Skating is the vehicle. Wellbeing is the destination.
Appendix C — Governance
Credentials and Transparency
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| CIC registration | Active — Company No. 13660924 |
| Annual CIC 34 reports | Filed with CIC Regulator for 2023, 2024, and 2025 |
| Board of Directors | Three directors in office; three strategic roles being recruited (target: 3+ by August 2026) |
| Profit use | 100% reinvested — no surplus extraction |
| Directors' remuneration | Transparent — disclosed in full in CIC 34 annual filings |
Empowr CIC · Registered Community Interest Company, England and Wales · Company No. 13660924
Crown House, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX · empowrcic.org
All delivery figures sourced from CIC 34 annual reports filed with the CIC Regulator. Prospectus correct as of June 2026.