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A sustainably designed charity shop has re-opened in Lewisham which aims to reduce carbon emissions, pollution and energy use wherever possible.
UK environmental charity TRAID’s twelfth charity shop is located in the heart of Lewisham and integrates sustainability in its design and build including recycled mannequins, non-solvent paints, use of sustainable materials like cork and bamboo, green energy, 100% LED lighting and reclaimed window glass and steel.
The charity is urging people to take part in UK Charity Week‘s ‘Give 5 Day’ by donating 5 items of clothing to their local TRAID shop.
Commercial Director Enedina Columbano said:
“In our newest charity shop, the design and build of the shop itself reflect our work on sustainability, reuse and fashion, from using 100% low energy lightning and renewable energy to using sustainable and reclaimed materials wherever possible.”
TRAID Lewisham does not sell plastic bags encouraging customers to bring their own, and the rest of its charity shops will follow as soon as existing stocks of bags run out. (The charity was an early adopter of charging 10p for its plastic bags since 2004).
Customers and the local community are also being encouraged to pass on clothes they no longer need in-store for someone else to use, or to book a free, convenient home collection www.traid.org.uk/collections.
As well as its sustainable store design, TRAID’s fashion reuse work makes a significant contribution to the environment by keeping clothes in use for longer. Since launching in 1999, the charity has diverted over 170,000,000 garments from landfill by collecting, reusing and reselling them instead.
Since lockdown eased in mid-June, TRAID has re-opened putting protective measures in place in all its charity shops to keep staff and customers safe, including closing changing rooms, quarantining donations and installing hand sanitiser stations.
Columbano added:
“We’re delighted to safely welcome our customers back into our TRAID’s charity shops. The response has been very positive, and after being denied access to our local high streets for so long, many are reminded what an important resource they are. Not just for shopping, but also for connecting with our friends, neighbours and communities.”
With TRAID’s shops re-opened, the charity is once again able to sustainably raise funds to improve the lives, environment and incomes of the people who make our clothes, which we anticipate will be needed more than ever in the wake of this pandemic.
charitytoday.co.uk | 08 December 2020
INTERNATIONAL conservation charity ZSL, an Official Partner Charity of UK Charity Week, perhaps most known for its two UK zoos, ZSL London and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, has faced one of the toughest years in its almost-200-year history, but thanks to innovation, dedication and incredible support from the British public, the charity is still working tirelessly for a world where wildlife thrives.
In March, ZSL began work to raise must needed funds and an appeal was launched to help keep the charity going while its core income was lost; the animals of the zoo still needed feeding and caring for – to the sum of £1m a month – and its vital science and conservation work was needed more than ever.
Keepers ensured the public were kept up to date with animal news through pictures snapped on their phones and broadcasts on Facebook Live, news stories were shared weekly and major milestones were marked while the zoos were closed to generate awareness for their plight and encourage support.
In July 2020, in an extraordinary show of support, Sir David Attenborough lent his voice to a TV appeal to raise funds for ZSL stating “ZSL’s work is vital in driving forward a vision of a world where wildlife thrives, but ZSL now faces its toughest challenge to date – the national institution is now itself, at risk of extinction.” Created by agency Wunderman Thompson for free to support ZSL, the appeal was driven by a message of #KeepourZoosOpen and was aired on national TV channels with slots donated free of charge.
Following Sir David’s support, a host of famous comedians lined up to support ZSL Zoo in its hour of need – with a hilarious star-studded TV ad created again by creative agency, Wunderman Thompson.
Top talent included Jonathan Ross, Catherine Tate and Meera Syal who voiced zoo animals plotting ways to save the Zoo – which included a technologically inept giraffe, two hip hash-tagging #lemurs and a spiritual gorilla.
The short film shows Bob the emperor tamarin monkey, voiced by Bill Bailey, chairing a zoo marketing meeting with his furred and feathered ‘colleagues’ to discuss how to raise urgent funds, with Bhanu – London Zoo’s male Asiatic lion – landing on the winning idea through an accidental screen freeze.
Extending the #KeepourZooOpen appeal message, the comedians boosted the appeal with TV appearances and social media support. The combined appeals became ZSL’s largest and most successful fundraising campaign.
Now open, but still fighting for its future, ZSL’s London and Whipsnade Zoos have unveiled new digital fundraising technology that will allow visitors to make simple contactless donations to support the Zoos and ZSL’s global conservation work.
Visitors to the two world-famous Zoos, run by international conservation charity ZSL, can now find donation points outside some of the most popular exhibits, including London’s Penguin Beach, Gorilla Kingdom and Land of the Lions, and Whipsnade’s Centre for Elephant Care. The ‘tap to donate’ points will allow visitors to select from several ‘dinner options’, including £5 to feed five of ZSL’s Humboldt penguins their ‘fish supper’ for a day and £5 to feed the Zoo’s gorilla troop a delicious ‘veggie banquet’. Visitors can also choose to contribute to ZSL’s global conservation work, such as £10 to help ZSL’s work safeguarding lions around the world.
The partnership, between ZSL and a UK-based payments provider, is part of ZSL’s wider efforts to address the funding shortfall following the Covid-19 lockdown, and create unique and multiple options for supporters to help.
ZSL Fundraising Director, James Wren said:
“We are delighted to be part of UK Charity Week, as it enables us to put a spotlight on the vital work we’re doing and raise awareness of the support we so keenly need.
“2020 has presented ZSL with the toughest challenge in our history, yet despite that, we achieved some remarkable successes – from breeding Critically Endangered species to delivering one of our most successful fundraising campaigns to date – but we’re still going as our work is not done.
“ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos are home to incredible species, many of which are Critically Endangered and some are even Extinct in the Wild. They are also very special places for families, offering a safe space for children and adults to explore nature and learn about wildlife together.
“ZSL’s Living Planet Index – which forms the basis of WWF’s Living Planet Report published in September 2020 – shows that biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, which in turn has a huge impact on human’s health and wellbeing. ZSL is working around the world to tackle the threats to our planet, and our Zoos are a vital lifeline for that work.
“We know that seeing these animals up close is what inspires our visitors to do more for the natural world – be that through donating to ZSL to support our residents, vital science research and global conservation projects, or leaving inspired to take their own action for wildlife.
“We are calling on the public to help ensure we can continue to do our incredible work by joining as a member, booking a Flexi ticket to come at a time that suits them, or making a donation at zsl.org/donate.”
charitytoday.co.uk | 08 December 2020
“RIGHT now, every young person in the UK is at a disadvantage. 16-24-year olds are seeing the biggest fall in unemployment. It is clear that COVID-19 will continue to affect lives and livelihoods into 2021 and far beyond.”
Those are the words of Jon Egging Trust (JET) CEO, Dr Emma Egging who is calling for change if the nation’s young people are to be given the opportunity to thrive.
The charity, which specialises in delivering early intervention life-skills programmes, (centred around four pillars of inspiration, teamwork, employability and leadership) is seeking to support more young people and teachers than ever by introducing a new digital toolkit, ‘JET Inspired,’ the first series of films and resources which have been developed in partnership with the Red Arrows and licenced by the Ministry of Defence to help young people to reengage with education and learn key emotional skills that will enable them to feel positive about their futures. JET Inspired offers a unique and accessible learning programme that provides young people with the confidence and emotional-toolkit to overcome adversity, identify their strengths and reach their full potential.
JET’s Area Director for the South, Allie Hack commented:
“Working with young people who have experienced challenges and difficulties in their young lives shows that often their response is to keep things safe. Where they have experienced trauma or events which have damaged their self-belief and confidence, young people do not want to push themselves to experience events that might further set them back. This limits their ambitions and leads to a lack of confidence academically and socially. Opportunities pass them by, they don’t see themselves as candidates for positions of responsibility and yet often they are extremely resilient individuals. Our programmes allow such young people to reach higher, see the value in their views and invest in their own ambitions.”
With growing awareness of the plight of young people and the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, JET wants to see more emphasis placed on providing the emotional toolkits in schools to support young people in making the right choices. JET knows that their work is vital to changing the lives of younger generations who are increasingly disadvantaged as a result of COVID-19, and with current uncertainty, the need is more critical than ever. With ten years of experience, JET knows that what they do for young people, facing challenges in their lives, works. Bethany, now aged 19, took part in JET’s Blue Skies Programme from 2013-2016 and found it an immensely constructive experience that has helped shape her decisions.
JET CEO Dr Emma Egging commented:
“Bethany was selected for one of JET’s intensive programmes from 2013-2016 because she had low self-esteem, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after school and was disengaging from learning as a result. When I spoke to Bethany last week she had just finished a 4hr shift at Sainsbury’s, followed by a 5hr shift at Lloyds Bank. Bethany currently works two jobs and despite being in the midst of a pandemic affecting the futures of every young person in the UK, Bethany was in great spirits. She explained that despite working 6 days a week and doing some really unsocial hours, she was happy to be in employment when so many of her friends have lost their jobs. Not only that, working two jobs enables her to rent a house with her boyfriend and save up for her degree. Bethany explained to me that she was due to start a psychology degree this year (with the aim of doing a one-year law conversation at the end), but these plans had to be placed on hold due to the crises.”
Bethany commented:
“The Jon Egging Trust made me the person I am today. Every skill that I have, comes from the foundation that JET built with me when I was just 12. Every year with the programme I developed these skills and my personality blossomed. I love who I turned out to be and I owe it all to JET. Life isn’t easy for young people nowadays, there is always pressure to study but also to work and to build a life for yourself. If you study more than you work then you lack experience and if you work more than you study you lack education and qualifications. Young people need support because these are hard decisions to make and they are stressful and now we are in a pandemic.”
As the nation strives for a new normal amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, young people’s futures are less linear than ever before and JET wants to help more young people like Bethany to find paths to success that enable them to choose a brighter future.
JET CEO, Dr Emma Egging concluded:
“The right level of support at the right time is all that is needed to turn young people’s lives around and for them to understand why learning is important to getting the right job and career for them. For some young people, this could be an inspirational talk, which encourages them to think about a career in an area they had never thought of before, for others, like Bethany (who are signposted to our Blue Skies programme), this might mean a three-year support package that changes their outlook.”
To support JET’s Emergency Appeal please visit: www.joneggingtrust.org.uk/donate/
charitytoday.co.uk | 19 November 2020