Action Aid's Youth Brand "Bollocks to Poverty" is brilliant. I think the cheeky name sums it up really; a fun, youthful take on international development issues. A large number of people agree that the injustices in our world are ridiculous and Action Aid are brave enough to basically stick two fingers up to the whole thing. It's a refreshing antidote to the "poverty porn" which people may be becoming immune to.
Bollocks to Poverty spread the message about Action Aid's work through attending events, like festivals, which young people go to. They engage people through fun actions such as having your photo taken with a giant newspaper headline about a campaign whilst wearing silly wigs etc. They collect people's contact details at the same time and use it as a starting point to build a relationship. Bollocks to poverty also engages a substantial group of young volunteers to go to these events and be the ones getting out there talking to the crowds. These super-engaged volunteers will go on to be brand champions for Action Aid for years to come. I should know, I'm one of them!
Click to visit the Bollocks to Poverty website
Another great brand is Trekstock - starting out with overseas challenge fundraising and evolving to now raising funds and awareness through music, fashion and art collaborations as well this is a young charity with a lot of energy.
The charity geek in me likes the fact that rather than trying to manage service delivery on their own, Trekstock is a charity in its own right which raises money for Cancer Research UK's research into cancers effecting teenagers and young adults. I think this is a highly effective model which a lot of people thinking about setting up new charities could learn from. If you have a new, innovative way of delivering services then by all means set up a new charity, but if there are already people doing what you want to do perhaps putting your enthusiasm into a partnership like this could be the way forward.
Trekstock's Patron is Mark Ronson, they have lots of other high profile supporters and there's always loads of exciting things in the pipeline with these guys so watch this space. Oh, and their website was updated earlier in the year and is one of my favourite charity websites, check it out!
Click to visit the Trekstock website
So, from having a presence at music festivals to staging your own. Oxjam is a brilliant initiative from Oxfam which sees gigs taking place across the country each October. It brings together people's passion for music and international development as well as opening up a whole new audience. I think the Oxjam model is fantastic; Oxfam manage some high profile flagship gigs to build up interest and let volunteers run with the rest.
The volunteering opportunities with Oxjam are great, recruiting volunteers to be "regional managers" for them around the UK. These roles have several factors which make them appeal to Gen Y in particular: 1. It looks really good on your C.V. because you have a proper job title which communicates your level of responsibility 2. You get structured training to make the most out of the experience for both parties 3. It's a time bound commitment - you sign up for one year. I imagine you can apply to repeat it if you want but it's not open ended which I think can put people off. 4. There's enough flexibility within the framework that people can make it their own.
Click to visit the Oxjam website
Well, I hope you have found this little run down interesting. Please comment and share your own favourites!
