130 homeless Londoners crowdfund £500k to meet the country’s skills gap
Initiative backed by Mayor of London helps get homeless people into full-time jobs
Beam uses crowdfunding technology to make it safe & easy for the public to directly help the capital’s homeless
London, 10th October 2019: London’s homeless have crowdfunded more than £500k to train up and get into full-time work. Using online platform Beam, the money raised is helping the capital’s homeless gain employment training in careers as diverse as construction, healthcare, and accountancy.
Those who have launched crowdfunding campaigns include single mums living in hostels with their children, domestic abuse victims, former addicts, and army veterans who have fallen on hard times. 130 individuals have launched campaigns via Beam over the past two years, attracting more than more than 16,000 donations from members of the public.
One of the individuals who Beam has helped is Regina. After leaving a difficult relationship, Regina found herself with nowhere to turn, and was ostracised from both friends and family. Along with her young daughter, Regina was placed into temporary accommodation. However, with only a low-paying part-time job to sustain her, she struggled to pay her bills and quickly fell into debt. Thanks to Beam, Regina was able to crowdfund £3,920 to complete her dental nurse training, and started work as a trainee dental nurse earlier this year.
Alex Stephany, Founder and CEO of Beam, said: “There are more than 320,000 homeless people in the UK. At the same time, millions of people in the UK are concerned about the rise of homelessness and don’t know how to help. Should you give someone money, clothing, food, or something else? This is why I set up Beam; to develop a true long-term solution to tackling homelessness, empowering homeless people to support themselves and their families. People can now directly fund training for a homeless person and also send uplifting messages of support that are just as important as the donations and transform how people see themselves. I’m delighted that the people using the Beam platform have crowdfunded half a million pounds in two years - an incredible testament to the desire of the British public to help their fellow citizens.”
Founded in 2017 by serial tech entrepreneur Alex Stephany, and backed by the Mayor of London, Beam currently operates in London, with plans to expand its services nationwide. It was recently named Hottest Tech for Good Startup in Europe at The Europas.
To help support people like Regina into full-time work, go to Beam’s website: www.beam.org
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For more information, case studies, high-res photos or video content, please contact:
Montana Gerry, Head of PR at Beam
T: 07462 882001
About Beam
Beam is the world’s first platform to crowdfund employment training for homeless people and support them into skilled work. Since launching, Beam’s supporters have funded training opportunities for more than 130 homeless men and women in London. Funded by the Mayor of London, Nesta and some of the world's top tech entrepreneurs, Beam has already won a number of awards for its work including first prize in the London Homelessness Awards, and Best Use of Technology in the Homeless Sector, and Hottest Tech for Good Startup in Europe at The Europas.