SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR: Emma Rigby's website was inspired by her Rotorua childhood. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
A former Rotorua woman who started a community website after the London riots has been invited to address the UK House of Commons.
Rotorua born and bred Emma Rigby (nee Nicholson) left for what was meant to be a two-year working holiday 12 years ago.
In her first year in London, she met her English husband and the couple settled in the North London borough of Enfield.
Then came the 2011 London riots - with Enfield one of the worst affected.
"We had masked men running past our front door," she said. "I realised at that point I didn't even know my neighbours."
It hit home for the 36-year-old that she was bringing her two young children up in an environment vastly different from the community-minded Rotorua of her own childhood.
Wanting to recreate some of that Kiwi community spirit she set up a Facebook group called Love Your DoorStep, with the goal of bringing the people of Enfield together.
It's gone from strength to strength - in August 2012 the website launched and three months later Mrs Rigby took a "leap of faith", leaving her job to become a full time "social entrepreneur".
The business now employs seven people and boasts more than 7000 residents and 600 businesses working together to create a sustainable local economy.
As well as the business benefits, the site has found lost animals, wedding rings and even a missing person, Mrs Rigby said.
"We now have over 7000 local people in Enfield talking in real time about what's going on . . . it's just been incredible."
There's also a Rotorua link behind the site's distinctive logo - it was designed by Mrs Rigby's childhood friend Sarah Delany.
"The logo has become really big in London."
Love Your DoorStep has caught the attention of Mrs Rigby's local MPs who have invited her and 70 of the site's supporters to the House of Commons on February 24.
They will show a promotional movie then Mrs Rigby will give a presentation on how she's brought a community together through social media.
"It's an opportunity to showcase what we have done here to ministers."
Mrs Rigby has already launched the site in three other English towns and ultimately wants to see it spread nationally and internationally.
The name has been trademarked in New Zealand and she hopes to introduce Love Your DoorStep to her home country - "the best country in the world" within the next 12 months.
Her parents Neville and Alison Nicholson still live in Rotorua and Mrs Rigby said she was overdue for a trip home. "I miss New Zealand, it's such an amazing place to bring children up."
The former dairy farmer turned to art after a rugby accident put him in a wheelchair.
