By Arahbella Benta, JCI Nottingham Finance Director 2019 JCI Nottingham collaborated with the East Midlands Charity Awards to host a session on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The aim of the session was to raise awareness and appreciation for the work charities do and highlight areas of opportunities where more could be done in the East Midlands. Whilst local governments and private sector companies do a tremendous amount to support a sustainable future, it is very important to shine a light on the Third Sector Charities who have hands on the grounds, day-in & day-out, doing amazing work that support their communities and brings us closer to achieving the goals for Sustainable Development. The analytics presented are taken from 234 surveys across 34 charities in the East Midlands of England including Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. SDG Projects & East Midland Charities The graph "SDG Projects & East-Midlands Charities," shows the concentration of Sustainable Development goals focused on in the East Midlands by charities. At the top, Good Health & Well-being has been a major focus for charities. Much awareness and campaigns to de-stigmatise mental health have been raised and people are becoming more and more able to talk about struggles and share ways of improving and maintaining a healthy mind. In total there are 17 SDGs all of which are vital and important. The concentration of each varies from country-to-country, immediate community needs and severity of issues that threaten the quality of our world for future generations. The graph presented is an indication of the most pressing issues in the East Midlands as identified by charities. Alternatively, the SDGs of lesser concentration in the East-Midlands offers opportunities for charities, individuals, companies and local councils to focus, where there's a vital need for improvement but a lack of resources. As a take-away from the insight into the amazing projects and issues our charities tackle on a day-to-day basis, I urge the reader to think of pressing issues in the environment or community that call for action to ascertain sustainability. For companies, this could be improving staff retention by investing more into Decent Work & Economic Growth of employees or limiting operational activities that harm the environment through more Responsible Consumption & Production. For individuals, this could be helping the less fortunate or improving one’s own mental health and being vigilant to identify and help those struggling around us. Governments and local councils can make a significant difference by setting policies to progress in areas which call for urgent sustainable practices in order to maintain a quality world for future generations. There is something in this for everyone at all levels of society. We all can make a difference for a sustainable future whatever the size of the contribution! For more information on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals please visit https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ For a channel and network to support the SDGs have a nosey at https://www.jcinottingham.org.uk/ and https://jci.cc/ Important Date for your Calendar: On 26th October 2019 is the JCI Nottingham Mental Health Conference. This is free of charge to the public and will be hosted at the Mental Health Institute of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham University. To book your place and view our list of speakers for the day please visit https://www.facebook.com/jcinottingham/?ref=bookmarks JCI Nottingham Fundraiser for the MIND Charity In conjunction with raising awareness of Good Health & Wellbeing, JCI Nottingham is also raising funds to support the MIND charity.  Please follow the link to our fundraising page! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/5minsmeditate