StreetSmart boost for festive fundraising
Local businesses supporting HARP’s Christmas ‘StreetSmart’ campaign came up trumps over the festive period, collectively raising around £3,700.
About StreetSmart...
StreetSmart is an innovative fundraising scheme, designed as a way for restaurants to interact with customers while raising money to help the homeless. It works by automatically adding a voluntary donation of £1 to every bill, with the ability to ‘opt out’, should the customer not wish to take part.
Taking place across the festive months of November and December, when many people come together to enjoy eating out with friends and family, StreetSmart is designed to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people – particularly those sleeping rough on streets across the country.
Come January, the amount raised is totted up by the participating restaurants and sent to HARP. We then forward it to StreetSmart, where it’s distributed on a regional basis to the various homeless charities taking part in the scheme.
Every penny comes to HARP...
The good news for HARP is that we’re the only Southend-based homeless charity currently taking part in the scheme: meaning we benefit from every single penny raised by the generous people of the town who, on many occasions, contributed much more than the suggested £1 donation.
A BIG thank you to the restaurants who took part...
We’re lucky to benefit from the support of several restaurants in Southend and Leigh-on-Sea, and proud to introduce you to three in particular:
Firstly, with the distinction of being the restaurant that’s raised the most money since joining the scheme ten years ago: The Grove, Leigh-on-Sea. Owners Louise and Delvin Pitt have collected an outstanding amount of over £16,500 since becoming involved with StreetSmart way back in 2006. Louise says: “This huge sum would not have been achieved if it wasn't for the generosity and support from our customers. It’s a great example of local people helping local people”.
Next comes Il Palazzo, London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea as ‘best newcomers’ to the scheme having raised £1,000 during the 2015 campaign. Thanks are due to owners Ibrahim and Servet, along with all their staff and customers for this fantastic effort.
Finally, but by no means last, our ‘best café’: MadHatters Tea Room, Southend-on-Sea who achieved the fantastic sum of just over £500. Owner, Jane Kurt said: “The scheme was really simple to implement, and many of our customers gave more than £1”.
Other restaurants taking part this year were Jay Jeans Cafe on London Road, Westcliff, Affinity 1777 on London Road, Leigh-on-Sea and Gleneagles Guest House, Clifftown Parade, Southend. Thank you!
You can read the full story of StreetSmart here: www.streetsmart.org.uk
