Josh Littlejohn
Josh Littlejohn | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1986 |
| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Occupation(s) | Social Entrepreneur and Author |
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.
Early life and education
[edit]Josh Littlejohn was born on 16 September 1986 in Edinburgh, 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.