We spoke to Glenn Pougnet, Director of StreetSmart, who has been reflecting on the last few years, alongside the future direction of the campaign.
With the StreetSmart and LandAid partnership now in its third year, I wanted to take a moment to thank the industry and reflect on the journey we have been on.
With your continued support in engaging hospitality connections, we can make the 2022 campaign the best yet.
StreetSmart is a yearly campaign that sees restaurants across the country add a voluntary £1 donation to every diner’s bill during the winter months of November and December – a time when many of us start to think about those less fortunate than ourselves.
The last few years, however, have seen challenging times for the campaign, not to mention the property and hospitality industries. 2020 was extremely challenging for us all, many businesses had been closed for months, staff laid-off and some on the brink of survival. But despite this, the support for the StreetSmart campaign was extraordinary and humbling. However, our plans were unfortunately further scuppered with the second lockdown being enforced during the first week of fundraising. We scrambled to raise £200,000.
2021 brought a less uncertain and more positive time. The mood was upbeat and despite some areas still struggling with the work from home edict in mid-December, the campaign in partnership with LandAid raised a fantastic £690,000. That is 690,000 £1 donations all going to support homelessness projects across the UK. Just £1 – it really is that easy!
This is the equivalent of supporting over 340 young people through the most vulnerable moments in their life, in their first year of homelessness, by providing them with a safe space to sleep.
And it couldn’t have been done without the support of the property and real estate industries.
This year we are hoping to smash last year’s total, aiming to engage more restaurants than ever before in the hope of raising over £800,000 in the 2 months of the campaign this Winter.
The property industry can continue to play a vital role in the success of the StreetSmart campaign.
Connections are key. With clear, valuable crossovers between the property and hospitality sectors, we are calling upon LandAid supporters to help in recruiting new restaurants to sign up to take part in the 2022 StreetSmart campaign. The industry can create connections with occupiers, retail outlets and hotels to broaden the campaign. This could even be as simple as approaching your local restaurant or hotel to ask about their interest. Ultimately your support in driving new connections will give both StreetSmart and LandAid the profile required to make StreetSmart 2022 the most successful year yet.
The PR benefit to restaurants in taking part is clear, with numerous media partners helping to celebrate participating venues, and even the mighty Michelin Guide promoting the campaign. However, even more valuable is the place restaurants and hotels can hold in the future success of ESG goals. Businesses can create social impact through giving something back to their local communities.
All the money raised supports projects in the area it is donated in. So, for example, funds raised in restaurants in Wiltshire during last year’s campaign were donated to Bythesea Lodge, run by the Amber Foundation. They received £11,000 to support young people in the local area with nowhere else to turn.
That one email, or a quick conversation, could be all that it takes to drive a restaurant or hotel to sign up, which could then change the lives of hundreds of young people experiencing homelessness across the UK!
Find out more about the campaign here or to support the 2022 StreetSmart campaign, please get in touch with LandAid’s Deputy CEO, Alice Lamb at alice.lamb@landaid.org
*Photo from left to right – Glenn Pougnet, Director of StreetSmart, Alice Lamb, Deputy LandAid CEO, William Sieghart, Chair & Founder of StreetSmart, and Neil Slater, LandAid Board Chair & Global Head of Real Assets at abrdn