Scran-tastic news
The Covid-19crisis putunprecedentedpressureon thefinancesof
familiesand sentfoodbankdemandsoaring.Butithasalsoput
businesses-for-goodatrisk,particularlythosethatrelyon eventsto
generatean income.That’swhy Prep Tableand ScranAcademy,two
Edinburghcateringsocialenterpriseswhichhave beensupportedby
BigIssue Invest,teamedupto getmealsto vulnerablepeoplearound
thecity. Cancelledeventssparkedconcernbetweentheorganisations,
buttheychannelleditinto doinggoodfor theircommunity.Thanksto
theirjointprojecttheScranMealsProgramme,around150,000meals
have beendeliveredto 3,500residentssofar, withthehelpof 250
volunteers.It alsomeanttheycouldcontinueto providementoring
supportand work opportunitiesfor disadvantagedyoungpeople
throughthecity-wideeffortdespitejobopportunitiesbeingscarcer
than ever.Encouragingclimate
The UN’sclimatechangeconference,COP26,shouldhave concluded
inGlasgowthisNovember.Aswithsomanyeventsin2020,Covid-19
had otherplans. Worldleaderspostponedtheeventby ayear,
sparkingconcernamongyoungpeoplethatpushingany decisive
actionon environmentalissuesback by anotheryear meansanother
12monthslost. So theydecidedto doitthemselves. Morethan 200
staff and volunteersfrom 52countries,allagedunder30,came
togetherfor MockCOP,avirtualconferencerunninguntilDecember1.
Bringingtogetheraround350youthdelegatesfrom aroundtheglobe,
the10-dayeventhasshownhow importantitisfor switched-onyoung
peopleto beinvolved intheconversation.Going theextra mile
The Covid-19crisis hasbeenparticularlyhard for peopleliving
inpovertyand thosewhostrugglewithmentalhealthissues.
Cambridgeshire’sHarryHiskett(12)and SergeLambert(13)were
determinedto dosomethingto helptheirin-needneighbours,so
decidedto doaduathlon and aimedto raise £200.Butby running
five milesthencyclinganother10,theysmashedthattarget–raising
nearly£1,000atthetimeof writingfor mentalhealthcharityMindas
wellasMarchFood Bank.Lastyear, CambridgeshireCountyCouncil
saidone in10residentswasliving inpoverty–anumberlikelyto have
risen–sotheirselflesseffortswillgoalong way to helpingothers.
CompiledbyHannahWestwater@hannahjtwBins and tonic
Wolverhampton’s Henry Wright, Adrian
Breakwell and Jack Johnson might be the
country’s most famous binmen. The refuse
collectors went viral earlier this year after
videos of them dancing to familiar hits
from Grease and Baywatch while out on the
job racked up millions of views and gave
people at home the pick-me-up they needed
in lockdown.
Their videos raised more than £3,000 for
Wolverhampton hospice Compton Care. Now
the dancing trio has released a Christmas
single – Boogie Round the Bins at Christmas
Time – to raise cash for an as-yet undecided
local charity. The binmen wrote the lyrics and
the tune then worked on the track with local
musician Stephen Barratt and the Wolfpack
Howlers to bring it to life. After filming a
festive video for the single and including
self-filmed clips of residents dancing around
their bins in tinsel, they’re going to go head-
to-head with Sam Fender and The Big Issue
to secure this year’s Christmas number one.
Find The Dancing Binmen on Facebook and
downloadthetrackfor99pfromiTunes
Photo: ©Cascade News orAmazon
Photos:
(^) Parkdean
(^) Ho
liday
(^) Resorts
FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | 31