As the number of people impacted by Coronavirus continues to escalate, The Big Issue has taken the decision to safeguard its network of vendors by asking that they stop selling on streets across the whole of the UK with immediate effect.
Lord John Bird, Founder of The Big Issue, said:
Coronavirus is an unprecedented threat to Public Health. Our sellers, many of whom are homeless, are already highly vulnerable and it is only right that we act now to protect their welfare at this critical time.
Lord Bird called upon the public to support the social enterprise throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
He said:
In the coming months, 29 years of trade and support of The Big Issue for vendors could well be destroyed. Our income comes from street sales. We are one of the only social business that operates exclusively on the streets, where the crisis of homelessness is most manifest.
We urgently need 60,000 of you wonderful people to go online and provide us with financial support or else in a short period of time our resources will be depleted.
You can support The Big Issue with a one-off payment, via bigissue.com, 50% of which will go directly into vendors pockets, buy a magazine through our shop or online or subscribe for three months whilst your vendor isn’t on the street.
The Big Issue, a bastion of the British High- Street, was founded 29 years ago and is a social enterprise which exists to dismantle poverty by creating opportunities, through self-help, social trading and business solutions. It has helped well over 100,000 people over the past 29 years, and on average the organisation puts £5m into the pockets of our vendors every single year.
You can support The Big Issue in three ways:
- Subscribe for three months and have the magazine delivered right to your door, every week.
- Order each week’s magazine. Or make a one-off payment at bigissue.com to help The Big Issue through this period. 50% of your money will go to vendors needing their help. The remaining 50% will enable The Big Issue to continue its vital work with vendors now and in the future.
- You can also buy a digital copy of the magazine through Zinio.
Image: Big Issue