***Press release***
Renowned actress Joanna Lumley is backing a Thames Reach charity campaign that pledges to spend every single penny donated by the public on helping homeless people in London, rather than paying for glossy ads.
The public can make donations to the campaign by phoning
0845 901 1811 or donating online.
Joanna donned workman’s overalls and went aloft in a cherry picker crane in central London earlier this week to hand-paint an advertising billboard promoting the Thames Reach campaign.
The campaign is the brainchild of Mark and Lewis, two of London’s foremost creatives from the world of advertising, who gave up their time and expertise for free after seeing people sleeping rough on the capital’s streets whilst they were out training for a marathon. This inspired them to seek out a charity known for providing effective services directly to the homeless rather than spending large sums of money on marketing.
Mark and Lewis’s idea was for a celebrity and a homeless volunteer to produce a hand-painted design for the campaign instead of trying to emulate the glossy ads favoured by charities with large advertising budgets.
Backing for the campaign came from Clear Channel Outdoor who donated advertising space on 1,000 bus shelter advertising sites across London along with a large Clear Channel Golden Square billboard in Vauxhall.
With Joanna Lumley, Mark and Lewis and professional photographer Caroline Field giving Thames Reach their time for free and with City Numbers donating the freephone number – people’s generosity effectively saved the charity nearly £300,000.
Last year, Thames Reach helped nearly 2,000 rough sleepers and over 5,000 people in need of support in order to avoid homelessness.
Joanna Lumley said: “This campaign to support Thames Reach and services for London’s homeless is one that I hope gets the backing of the British public.
“Thames Reach is at the forefront of helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Our association goes back nine years to when I opened one of their hostels. Now I’ve gone up in a crane to paint a message asking people to phone 0845 901 1811 and make a donation. It’s been an uplifting morning for me in more ways than one – pick up the phone and make a donation and make it an uplifting day for yourself and for homeless people too.”
Thames Reach Chief Executive, Jeremy Swain, said: “Thames Reach has always put its resources into its frontline teams which work directly with homeless people, helping them to transform their lives. Our street outreach teams work across the capital every night of the year, frequently unnoticed by the public going about their business, helping rough sleepers to leave the streets behind for good. So this campaign highlights the activities of an unsung charity that has historically concentrated on providing services to some of society’s most vulnerable people.
“We can only run a campaign of this type, the cost of which would normally go well beyond our budget limits, because of the generosity of celebrities such as Joanna Lumley, and people from the world of advertising. Add to this the support and encouragement from the homeless people who use our services and we have, at last, a chance to raise the profile of homelessness and the work of Thames Reach.
“Now all we need is for the public to match this enthusiasm and goodwill by calling our freephone number 0845 901 1811 and making a donation.”
All monies raised will go on one of four projects:
- Thames Reach’s London Street Rescue service which helps rough sleepers off the streets and into accommodation.
- Thames Reach’s farm project, helping former rough sleepers escape from the relentless pace of city life and benefit from a day’s work on an organic farm in the heart of the Sussex countryside.
- Thames Reach’s TRaVEL volunteering project, helping former rough sleepers take the first steps towards getting back into work.
- Thames Reach’s Moving In Moving On project, helping homeless men and women train as painters and decorators, learn new skills, develop their self-confidence and make a fresh start.
Ends
Notes to editor
1) Thames Reach is one of the UK’s leading homelessness charities. Its ultimate goal is to end street homelessness. It runs a range of services to help rough sleepers off the streets, accommodation including hostels and supported housing projects, and innovative schemes which help people develop new skills, re-engage with family and friends, and get back into work.
See www.thamesreach.org.uk
2 Joanna is pictured with Marion Albrecht who helped to paint the billboard was homeless for twenty years, spending much of her life sleeping rough on streets and in shop doorways across Britain. She was helped to escape this lifestyle five years ago and now gives up her time to talk at conferences and at schools about the work undertaken by homelessness charity Thames Reach.
3) For further details contact Thames Reach communications manager, Mike Nicholas, on 07816 113420 or 0207 702 5646. mike.nicholas@thamesreach.org.uk
4) Pictures by Caroline Field who donated her time for free to support the campaign.
