STOP PRESS: target raised.
I was brought up on Blue Peter, so - in their best traditions - and having raised my baseline target of £1,400, I am now raising my target to £2,000.
Please, folks, let's go for it. I don't know how you may have arrived here, but I can't impress on you enough how valuable is the work of the Big Issue magazine and its partner Big Issue Foundation - "Helping homeless people to help themselves."
Their approach is to provide the homeless with the means to 'bootstrap' themselves out of their situation, starting with the simple act of distributing a good quality magazine for an honest return.
It’s not charity, it’s self-help. It’s tough, it’s robust and it’s wholly realistic about the challenges that a vendor faces. These include confronting the issues of self-esteem and social ostracism as they seek to change their own lives.
The Big Issue’s founder – John Bird – was himself a rough sleeper when he formed the strong view that they and only they hold the key to their long term well-being. John had the vision for what has become a world-wide movement of street papers – quality journalism and production with the purpose of converting dependency into trade.
I have myself only slept rough for a couple of nights. But I can assure you that the choice to do so is one that a person makes only under extreme duress or distress. We all know that the very wrong thing to do for anybody presenting for a cash hand-out is to give it unthinkingly. The Big Issue offers the assurance that vendors will handle proceeds with responsibility, having signed up to a Code of Conduct, all with the bonus of a very good read.
If you want to keep tabs on my prepration, please check out my blog at http://www.ianvsthedowns.blogspot.com/.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It's also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Big Issue Foundation gets your money faster and, if you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
So please sponsor me now!
