What does meaningful social impact look like when you're responsible for an entire region? How can local investment tackle poverty, improve men's mental health and create better opportunities for young people?

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, talks to James about how local leadership can make a tangible difference to people's lives, from community-led initiatives and green social prescribing to skills, tourism and regional economic growth.

David's route into politics was far from conventional. After running a successful retail business, he became frustrated by the inequalities and underinvestment he saw around him. Personal experiences, including losing his father and witnessing the pressures facing public services, helped shape his decision to pursue a different kind of impact.

In this episode:

• Devolution and local leadership: Why giving regions more control over decisions and investment could help tackle long-standing inequalities.
• Community wealth building: How to keep more investment circulating within local economies and support homegrown businesses.
• Men's mental health: How David's own experience of grief prompted him to champion earlier intervention and community-based support.
• Green social prescribing: How York and North Yorkshire's national parks and green spaces are being used to support people experiencing anxiety, loneliness and stress.
• The role of charities and social enterprises: Why trusted local organisations can reach people in ways that traditional public services sometimes cannot.

LINKS:

https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk/mayors-fund-boosts-mens-mental-health-projects/

https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk/natural-health-service/

https://www.thepurposebrief.org.uk/

Most people know Dolly Parton for iconic hits like 9 to 5 or Islands in the Stream. Fewer realize that her proudest achievement, and the love letter to her father, was founding Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

In this episode of The Purpose Brief, James talks to Meg Fletcher, Regional Director for the North of England and Northern Ireland at the Dollywood Foundation.

Meg tells the story of how a localised book-gifting project started in Sevier County, Tennessee, by an internationally recognised singer has grown globally to post over 330 million free books to children under five.

We discuss the power of place-based giving, how local community partnerships make global impact possible, and why receiving a free book in the post every month transforms family dynamics during the cost of living crisis.

Plus, Meg reflects on meeting Dolly Parton, her favourite bluegrass “deep cuts”, and the enduring ethos behind one of her famous quotes: "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

What you’ll learn

· The Father-Daughter Inspiration: How Dolly Parton's father, who never had the chance to learn to read or write, became the driving force behind the Imagination Library's creation in 1995.

· 330 Million Books & Counting: The global reach of the program across five countries, sending free, age-appropriate books every month to 3.5 million children.

· Relieving Cost-of-Living Pressures: Why free home-delivered books provide essential support to working families who face trade-offs between household bills and early learning resources.

· The Power of Place-Based Partnerships: Why the foundation relies on local authorities, volunteers, and community funding; from Nashville to Newcastle and North Yorkshire.

· Representation & Diversity in Children's Literature: How modern book curation fosters confidence and self-acceptance in young children (and why a 3-year-old chose to dress up as "herself" for World Book Day).

Come celebrate 'Give Like Dolly' Day with us!

LINKS:

The 25th September (9.25) marks the first annual Give Like Dolly Day, honouring Dolly Parton and her vision that all children grow up with access to books.

To celebrate #GiveLikeDollyDay - people can donate directly to their local Imagination Library Partner to help more children in their community receive books. To support locally visit https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com and select your local programme.

You can reach out to The Dollywood Foundation to explore if you would like to begin discussions about starting a local network info@imaginationlibrary.co.uk

Info on the Giving Day: https://www.dollyparton.com/news/the-dollywood-foundation-announces-give-like-dolly-day-on-september-25-encouraging-the-world-to-make-a-difference-in-a-childs-life

About the Imagination Library: https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/ About the Purpose Brief by Resolute Purpose: https://www.thepurposebrief.org.uk/

E-mail James directly: hello@thepurposebrief.org.uk

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become one of those business buzzwords that everyone uses, plenty of people argue about, and far too few people can explain without reaching for another acronym.

So what does it actually mean when it leaves the strategy document and lands in the real world?

James is joined by Justine MacArthur, an independent consultant working across people, culture and HR, and Dane Wadsworth from JZ Flowers, to look at what responsible business looks like in practice.

There are no neat answers here. Instead, there are real examples: choosing between air and sea freight, measuring social impact, persuading people across an organisation to get on board and tracing the journey of flowers from more than 1,600 growers.

The conversation also challenges some familiar assumptions. People don't necessarily dislike change, they deeply resentment change done to them. Sustainability isn't just about spreadsheets, initialisms and reporting. It needs to become part of how a business operates.

ESG can feel like a minefield of frameworks, regulations and competing demands. This episode cuts through some of that noise and asks a more useful question: how do you build a business that is resilient, responsible and fit for the future without losing sight of the people who make it work?

In this episode

• Why ESG has become so loaded and why stripping away the jargon matters
• How purpose, leadership, HR and sustainability connect
• What JZ Flowers' approach to sourcing, carbon, traceability and operational efficiency looks like in practice
• How to communicate sustainability without drowning people in jargon
• The tension between carbon reduction, cost, waste, freight and supply-chain realities
• Why traceability and fair-trade premiums matter to customers
• The challenges charities face when funding rules restrict what “social value” can mean
• Why governance matters, and what happens when sustainability depends on the people at the top

LINKS

Justine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-macarthur/

Dane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-wadsworth-thurnham-mchem-hons-276b01103/

About us: https://www.thepurposebrief.org.uk/