If you’re reading this, it means that you have access to the internet somewhere, or ?maybe you’re in much the same position that I was when I wrote it – a full belly, dressed warmly, in a well-lit room in a safe place, with my bed down the hall waiting for me. If we have nothing but those things, we have more than a homeless person has. Which is why we should consider stepping out of our comfort zone and into their shoes for an afternoon. Begging. For them. That’s what the people at The Passage — the U.K.’s largest homeless agency — did to raise money and awareness.
The genius marketing campaign had Passage volunteers standing in Victoria Station holding cardboard signs. The campaign was hugely successful; their donations increased by 25 percent and they reached more than 650,000 people via social media.
My mind is whirling with the possibilities of the good that can be done with this concept. I’m thinking…my teenagers in a business plaza in Dallas, with their signs saying “I was born with advantages,” etc…with the same message of “I’m collecting for someone who doesn’t.” Share your ideas in the comments. Photos are below the video.
The Passage – fundraising initiative for the homeless from PLBR on Vimeo.?Images via video screenshots.
