One month Workathon

One month Workathon - on the 20th of November I began a charity challenge that involves me doing a different job each day for a month. For at least one hour, each day of the working week I give up my time to work for local businesses, post a video about what they do, and donate my wages to The Child Poverty Action Group. At the end of the challenge I plan to host a magic show to raise extra funds and awareness hopefully this can be arranged for the children of the Hospice. The Child Poverty Action Group works on behalf of the one in four children in the UK growing up in poverty. Their goal is a society where no family goes hungry, and every child has a fair chance in life. You can see child poverty rates by local area by visiting endchildpoverty.org.uk. I’m still looking for Chester based businesses to get involved in the charity challenge. I’m searching for interesting and different businesses that maybe are not well known to fill the work days still available, please send me a direct message on [email redacted] if you are interested and I will get back to you with date/time availability. All offers will be considered, from cleaning jobs, demolition and farm work to office jobs and educational work. I would be grateful for any donations to my cause, every little helps, even the smallest act of kindness can go a long way. The Child Poverty Action Group campaign for policies that will end UK child poverty for good and provide training, advice and information to help hard-up families get the financial support they need. They also carry out high profile legal work to establish and protect families' rights.   Key Facts ·         There were 4.1 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2016-17. That’s 30 per cent of children, or 9 in a classroom of 30. ·         Child poverty reduced dramatically between 1998/9-2011/12 when 800,000 children were lifted out of poverty. Since 2010, child poverty figures have flat-lined. The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 0.5 million since 2010. ·         As a direct result of tax and benefit decisions made since 2010, the Institute for Fiscal Studies project that the number of children in relative poverty will have risen from 3.6m to 4.3 million by 2020. ·         Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works. ·         Families experience poverty for many reasons, but its fundamental cause is not having enough money to cope with the circumstances in which they are living. A family might move into poverty because of a rise in living costs, a drop in earnings through job loss or benefit changes. ·         Child poverty blights childhoods. Growing up in poverty means being cold, going hungry, not being able to join in activities with friends. For example, 50 per cent of families in the bottom income quintile would like, but cannot afford, to take their children on holiday for one week a year. ·         Child poverty has long-lasting effects. By GCSE, there is a 28 per cent gap between children receiving free school meals and their wealthier peers in terms of the number achieving at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades. ·         Childcare and housing are two of the costs that take the biggest toll on families’ budgets. When you account for childcare costs, an extra 130,000 children are pushed into poverty. ·         There were 4.1 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2016-17. That’s 30 per cent of children, or 9 in a classroom of 30. http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/key-facts/