Josh Littlejohn MBE is a Scottish social entrepreneur, Sunday Times best selling author and homeless campaigner who founded charities the Social Bite and the World’s Big Sleep Out.
Josh Littlejohn | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1986 |
| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Occupation(s) | Social Entrepreneur and Author |
Early life and education edit
Josh Littlejohn was born on 16 September 1986 in Stirling, United Kingdom. He has an honours degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Edinburgh.[1]
Career edit
In August 2012 Littlejohn and Alice Thompson co-founded the Social Bite, a chain of cafes that provides employment and free food to homeless and vulnerable people.[2][3]
In 2018, Littlejohn built the Social Bite Village from reclaimed wasteland in Edinburgh to provide shelter and support for up to 20 homeless people at any one time.[4][5]
In December 2019, Littlejohn launched the World’s Big Sleep Out,[6] which took place in 52 cities including London, New York, Delhi and Hong Kong.[7] In 2016, he co-founded a social enterprise beer company called Brewgooder, where the profits go towards providing clean water.[8] The brewery set out an aim of providing clean drinking water for one million people in five years.[9]
He has appeared on The One Show[10] and BBC Breakfast.[11] Newspaper interviews include The New York Times,[12] The Guardian[13] and The Times.[14]
In 2023 he published his first book Paying It Forward: How to Be a Social Entrepreneur.[15] The book debuted at number seven on the Sunday Times Best Seller chart.[16]
Recognition edit
Littlejohn was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours.[17][7][18] He has received an honorary Doctor of Science in Social Science from the University of Edinburgh[1] and honorary doctorates from Robert Gordon University,[19] and Edinburgh Napier University,[20]
He was included in the Debrett’s list of 500 most influential people in the UK 2017.[21]
Littlejohn collected the Pride of Britain Special Recognition award in 2019.[22][23]
In 2020, he won the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award for helping helpless people.[24][25]
In 2023, his debut book 'Paying it Forward' became a Sunday Times' best seller, reaching number seven in the UK's best selling chart.[16]
References edit
- ^ a b "Sleepout events to help tackle homelessness". The University of Edinburgh.
- ^ "What is Social Business?". Social Bite.
- ^ "Top Scots sleep out for homeless charity". BBC News. 16 December 2016.
- ^ "The Social Bite Village". Social Bite.
- ^ West, Jean. "Big Sleep Out creator Josh Littlejohn's wake up call on B&Bs". The Times.
- ^ "The World's Big Sleep Out". Official website.
- ^ a b "Social Bite founder Josh Littlejohn dedicates MBE to people 'marginalised' from society". The Independent. 30 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17.
- ^ "Brewgooder has good cause to cheer Asda extension". The Scotsman.
- ^ "Saturday Interview: Beer firm making good on clean water pledge, entrepreneur Mahon declares". The Herald (Glasgow).
- ^ "World's Big Sleepout on The One Show". The One Show.
- ^ "Josh Littlejohn on BBC breakfast talking "Housing First"". BBC Breakfast. 4 January 2020.
- ^ Salcedo, Andrea; Stewart, Nikita (7 December 2019). "Hundreds Spend the Night in Sleeping Bags on Times Square". The New York Times.
- ^ Lewis, Tim (9 April 2017). "Social entrepreneur Josh Littlejohn: 'I want to build a utopia for the homeless'". The Observer.
- ^ West, Jean. "World's Big Sleep Out will help us wake up to plight of the homeless, says Josh Littlejohn". The Times.
- ^ Smillie, Liam (18 Aug 2023). "Social Bite founder launches first book detailing how to become a 'social entrepreneur'". glasgow world. Retrieved 25 Aug 2023.
- ^ a b "The Sunday Times Bestsellers List — the UK's definitive book sales chart". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Social Bite founder Josh Littlejohn awarded MBE". Scottish Housing News.
- ^ "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N20.
- ^ "Social entrepreneur's work recognised at RGU graduation ceremony | December 2018 | News | RGU". Robert Gordon University.
- ^ "Moredun's Julie Fitzpatrick receives Honorary Doctorate of Science from Edinburgh Napier University". www.ukspa.org.uk.
- ^ "Debrett's 500 List: Food & Drink". The Daily Telegraph. 20 January 2017.
- ^ "JOSH LITTLEJOHN AND ALICE THOMPSON". Pride of Britain Awards.
- ^ "Interview: Josh Littlejohn". The Scotsman.
- ^ "Champion for the homeless wins Burns Humanitarian Award". Scottish Legal News.
- ^ "Burns Award for Josh Littlejohn". Third Force News.