2. History
“The Big Issue was launched in 1991 by Gordon Roddick and A. John Bird in response to the
growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London. The two believed that the key
to solving the problem of homelessness lay in helping people to help themselves. Vendors
buy their magazines with their own money and sell them at their own profit or loss.”
“To complement the self-help ethos of The Big Issue Magazine, The Big Issue Foundation
was established in 1995 to link vendors with the vital support and services which help them
address the issues that led to and have arisen as a result of experiencing homelessness.”
https://www.bigissue.org.uk/about-us/history-and-achievements
3. About
The Big Issue is a financially independent charity. The big issue offers the
motivation of earning an income. It means that people that often get overlooked
by other services get the chance to get involved and turn their lives around. They
work with the sellers who are excluded from mainstream society, not financially
stable and disadvantaged in many ways. They try to address the issues attached
to social and financial exclusion.
“We operate an open door policy and work with individuals who have made the
first step to try and work themselves out of the poverty of their situation. Our
charity work focuses on delivering brighter futures, boosting self esteem and
helping vendors to reclaim their citizenship.”
https://www.bigissue.org.uk/about-us
5. Basic Facts
There is approximately 2,000 sellers overall, including 500 in London
90% of the sellers are men and 10% of the sellers are women
82,000 copies are sold each week and 250,000 are sold at the sales peak at
Christmas
Vendor opportunities include:-
-Corporate placements
-work in magazine distribution
-work experience
-training of new vendors
