This is your call to action!
The Raising Voices project needs your help.
We all know that poverty is wrong.
There is too much of a gap between the rich and those with the least money.
The Raising Voices project is trying to change that.
No matter how much time you have got there is something YOU can do!
We need your voice and your time to tackle poverty in Stoke on Trent.
5 minutes
Share your ideas for what needs to be done to end poverty in Stoke on Trent. Fill in this short survey, to help write a manifesto for change. There are just 3 questions.
Follow, Like and Share our Raising Voices social media messages.
Facebook Get talking Hardship
Twitter Hardship Stoke
10 minutes
Share your poem about poverty.
Send in a postcard to share your stories, views and thoughts about poverty in Stoke on Trent.
Order a free postcard from Raising Voices. The postcard comes in a pack with instructions and a free return envelope for you to use to send your completed postcard(s) back to us.
1 hour
Give away what you can spare. Donate to the Food Bank, or Hygiene Bank while you are shopping. Donate to a Charity Shop when you are having a clear out.
Watch and listen to the 2022 report on poverty in the UK, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation or read it on their website.
2 hours
Get tips for taking great photos that show what poverty is like in Stoke on Trent at our free online photography workshop on 17th February 2022 1 til 3pm. Please book on eventbrite.
Make a podcast with Community Cast, by telling the story of your experience of food poverty and hardship.
yourcommunitycast@gmail.com 07931553787
4 hours
Chat with others about what has helped you and needs to happen in the city in order to make things better for peoples wellness. Join the free wellness workshop on 8th March 10am to 2pm at the Dudson Centre, Hanley, Stoke on Trent. Lunch is included. Please book on eventbrite.
Write about how you feel and think about poverty in our city. Come to a free poetry workshop on 9th March 10am to 2pm at Staffordshire University. Lunch in included. Please book on eventbrite.
1 day
Make your own clay tile, to help show the story of poverty in Stoke on Trent, in a free creative hands-on clay workshop on Saturday 12th March from 10 am – 4 pm. Chat and share ideas. Make a clay tile based on your experiences of and thoughts towards Hardship in the local area.
There are only 15 places. Please email Lynne for information lynne@allthesmallthingscic.co.uk
Regular time to give?
Join the Raising Voices steering group to shape the project and our future local action together.
The meetings are friendly and informal, you can take part face to face or online. There is always food.
Contact Ryan Fox or Lynne Ball if you want to come along – email ryan.fox@staffs.ac.uk phone Lynne 0751 881 3131.
Join the APLE Collective, the national collective of people who experience of poverty, working together with organisations that support us to take positive action to eradicate poverty. All the Small Things and Expert Citizens in Stoke on Trent are already members. We can support you to join and take part.
Meetings are only one hour long. There are two main meetings each month on Tuesdays, one to share information from all the members and catch up, and the other to hear back from sub-groups. The sub-groups each meet twice a month for one hour. The sub-group topics are:
- Campaigns and Communications, on Wednesdays
- Learning Together on Thursdays
- Governance on Thursdays
If you would like to go to a meeting to find out more, please email Lynne at All the Small Things and she will support you. allthesmallthings @ gmail.com
Are you worried about the rises in fuel costs?
Join the conversation about how we tackle fuel poverty together.
Community Organisers Ltd are focussing on people on prepayment meters and people who are hit the hardest by these increases.
We invite you to join the conversation to decide where to focus our campaign
There is a meeting on Thursday 10th February at 1pm.
Book your place on eventbrite here.
If you want to join the campaign but are not free on the 10th, please email Dot Kirk DotKirk-Adams@corganisers.org.uk
VAST can match you with a volunteer role that suit you.
From Charity Shops, to CAB advice worker, family support, volunteer driver, digital buddy or telephone befriender, there is a role for everyone. VAST will help you find a way to share your gifts, time and interests with others, at times to suit you. There will be training, support and expenses so you can get experience and develop your skills and knowledge. Volunteers make a BIG difference to the lives of people living in poverty and to the community as a whole. It’s good for you too – volunteering is good for wellbeing and confidence and can help you get paid work if that’s what you are looking for.
Join the North Staffs Local Organising Group to take social action on poverty!
Email 1000livesnetwork @ gmail.com or phone Lynne on 0751 881 3131.
Get help
Food prices, fuel costs and COVID have all made it harder for most of us to get by easily. If you are having problems with money, don’t struggle alone. There is no shame in asking for support.
CAB (Citizens Advice) Staffordshire North and Stoke on Trent can help you manage your money, apply for benefits, deal with debt, housing, immigration and a wide range of other problems.
Help with food
Stoke on Trent Food Bank call for advice, get a voucher from a referral organisation then go and collect your food parcel, a cuppa and a chat.
YMCA Pantry Pay a small weekly fee of £3.50, then choose at least ten items of quality food.
All the Small Things 