Donate to fight homelessness with a simple tap!
Date: 23rd February 2021
Railway Children has joined forces with Network Rail and four other charities as part of the Routes Out Of Homelessness scheme – a pledge that unites us in fighting homelessness and rough sleeping across the UK. It Is the first charter if its kind, bringing together organisations from across the industry, and we’re excited to be a part of such a pioneering mission.
With The Big Issue Foundation, Crisis, End Youth Homelessness and Shelter by our side, we are determined to help those with nowhere safe to call home, those sleeping rough, those facing homelessness and those young people who risk becoming the next generation of homeless adults.
Now this Network Rail initiative has been given a huge boost thanks to long-term Railway Children supporters Worldline who have teamed up with payment experts Evoke Create to bring some top tech to the table.
Together they have installed contactless kiosks at Edinburgh Waverly, Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and Reading stations, allowing people passing through to make a donation with a single tap. The terminals can take a gift of between £3 and £15 in a matter of seconds from a payment card.
Mary McLaughlin, Corporate Partnerships Manager, Railway Children said:
“We were absolutely blown away when we received the incredibly generous offer from Worldline and Evoke to gift us these donation kiosks. To now have an easy way for rail users to donate and have an impact on the success of the initiative is just fantastic.”
Jo Lewington, Network Rail’s chief environment and sustainability officer, said:
“The installation of these new donation kiosks marks another important step on our journey to supporting a route out of homelessness for every person sleeping rough around the rail network.”
James Bain, Chief Executive Officer UK&I, at Worldline commented:
“The Railway Children charity is close to my heart and I have been privileged to visit their projects to see the amazing work they do. No child should be homeless, living on the streets, no human should be homeless living on the streets, not in the third decade of the 21st century. It is incumbent on all of us who have the power to help to do just that, no excuses.”
Dean Ward, Evoke Co-Founder and CTO added:
“It’s fantastic to see how payment and kiosk tech are now at the point where this type of project becomes possible, connecting charities to the general public in a completely new way.”
Rail professionals from around the country attended Railway Children’s Safeguarding Champions event, celebrating their commitment to supporting children at risk on the network.
Rail industry professionals from across the UK have raised more than £130,000 for Railway Children through three recent fundraising events.
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