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Jon Snow ... Esther O'Callaghan |
when is this on?
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 In this brand new series, Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow hosts a series of interviews with inspiring volunteers for the Community Channel. In the first of the series he meets entrepreneur and volunteering pioneer Esther O’Callaghan from Manchester, and quizzes her on her inspiration, motivation and work-life balance. Join the Community Channel for this exclusive series of interviews with four of the country's leading lights in the voluntary sector.
Described as a ‘volunteering dynamo’ Esther O’Callaghan has achieved more than could reasonably expected from anyone at the age of 24. Her career as one of the country’s most extraordinary young entrepreneurs began two years ago with launch of her Manchester-based shop Factory Records. What makes her business so unique is her commitment to ploughing profits from events into the community projects supported by its offshoot the Factory Foundation.
In addition to running a business, foundation and music workshops within deprived schools; Esther chairs the Young People’s Fund (of the Big Lottery Fund), helping to direct over two hundred million pounds to projects for young people. She’s a business mentor for the Princes Trust; a founder member of Rainmakers, an organisation helping women to find new skills; and is Deputy Chair of Manchester’s biggest grant making body, The Community Foundation. And to top it all Esther has recently become a mother!
Esther comes from a poor single parent family, however she considers herself privileged and recalls the tremendous support and love she received from family and friends. Growing up in Blackpool - an area characterised by retirement homes - she began volunteering at a young age, visiting elderly people isolated from their families. A passion for music persuaded Esther to leave school at the age of 16 to start a small business selling records in North Manchester.
The idea to create the Factory Foundation came when she attended a fundraising event for the charity Rainmakers, which helps disadvantaged women to retrain and get back into work. She describes the concept behind the foundation’s work in marrying music and social development: "The idea of the foundation was I believe that music has the power to change people’s lives for the better. I think it’s well documented that people with mental health problems and all sorts of issues can really benefit from music - from just having access to music."
Esther believes passionately that volunteering should be encouraged and promoted to everyone in society and points out how misconceptions often prevent people from getting involved. Describing how volunteering is often perceived as old ladies working in charity shops or young people digging wells in the developing world, she says: "If you said to me ‘could you go and clear landmines?’ - no I probably couldn’t because I’m just not very good at that kind of thing. It isn’t what I do. But I can work with young people developing business ideas like I do with the Princes Trust. So I think it’s about making sure that the messages you’re sending out are very clear, that people can find something that’s interesting to them and that appeals to them not just something they feel they should do because it’s a worthy thing to do."
The Jon Snow Interviews are exclusive to the Community Channel so tune-in, enjoy and be inspired.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 April 2006 )
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