Restaurants and diners throughout the UK have raised £750,000 for the homeless, following another successful StreetSmart campaign. It adds to the more than £12million that the charity has put towards good causes since its founding 25 years ago.
StreetSmart’s scheme, which adds an optional £1 donation to diners’ bills, raised a record total, with London restaurants alone contributing over a £250,000. Throughout the UK, 550 restaurants participated in the fundraising scheme, which helps more than 50 homeless charities, and costs restaurant’s nothing and customers very little,, is supported by LandAid, who cover all the campaign’s costs. As such, every penny of what’s raised goes towards helping those who need it.
The campaign saw restaurants add £1 per table to diners bills (optional) during the festive period, and now, the money raised will help tackle homelessness in cities across the UK during the current cold snap and beyond.
It was a successful year for the campaign, with over 550 restaurants involved from Burnt Orange in Brighton raising £6,000, to Celentano’s in Glasgow raising £2,000 to fund projects in their local communities.
Meanwhile in London, The River Café in Hammersmith raised £14,000, Cubitt House group of pubs raised £24,000 and ACME Fire Cult in Dalston raised £1,300, showing the diverse nature of those who took part but all of whom come together once a year to support StreetSmart.
Glass Door is one such charity operating in West and South London supported by StreetSmart funds. Their CEO JO Carter says: “As temperatures plummet, it is becoming life threatening to be sleeping on the street. Glass Door’s vital night shelter circuits are open to provide those with nowhere else to go somewhere safe and warm to sleep. We’re proud to have been working with StreetSmart for 15 years. This year, their donation could support 50 guests to stay in our emergency winter night shelter for one week.”
The eateries in Selfridges alone raised £97,000. These funds will be used to provide accommodation for 18–25-year-olds who do not have a safe and secure place to call home, distributed between Centrepoint in London and Manchester, and St Basils in Birmingham. Both charities will be able to create new bed spaces to support dozens of young people who otherwise could end up sleeping on friend’s floors, night buses or on the streets.
This vital support is needed more now than ever, as sadly latest figures show a 21% increase in rough sleeping in London alone compared to the same period last year.
Paul Morrish, Chief Executive at LandAid, said:
“I am delighted at the total raised from the 2022 StreetSmart campaign. LandAid are proud of the special relationship that we have with StreetSmart, and it has been amazing to see such enthusiasm across the hospitality and property industries in supporting the campaign, particularly during some testing years. This small choice will create huge impact in supporting homelessness projects that will bring both relief and security to those who need it most across the country.”
