Around 500 pupils from nearly 20 schools across London are descending upon the legendry Ministry of Sound ‘super club’ to learn how DJing, MCing and beatboxing can help raise awareness of poverty in the UK.
The ‘a.noise’ event takes place on Thursday 26 June 2008 and is being organised by CSV, the UK’s leading volunteering charity. As well as attending the music workshops the students will learn how to print T-shirts and spray-paint positive graffiti art. At the end of the day the students will take part in a performance to showcase their new skills and to communicate issues surrounding poverty. Around 40 young people are also helping to run the event.
Around 1 in 3 children (3.8 million) live in poverty in the UK, many well below the poverty line (1). The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world but CSV is highlighting how people can volunteer their time to help combat the effects.
Maria Inglis of CSV Education said: “Many young people from disadvantaged areas go without the opportunities and access to facilities that others would take for granted.
“We hope the workshops will boost the self confidence of the students and show them how by developing their own skill set they can radically improve their employability, which remains the best way to break the cycle of poverty.”
The event is being funded by Deutsche Bank and a grant from the Dare to Care: Make time to help end child poverty campaign. Independent research commissioned by the campaign finds nearly half of children (44%) think that not being able to afford to go on a school trip is a sign of poverty while a quarter (24%) of British youth say not having a safe place for recreation makes you poor. (2)
The ‘a.noise’ event takes place on Thursday 26 June at the Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, London, SE1 6DP and is free to attend for selected London schools.
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For further information on the event, contact: Maria Inglis, CSV Education,
020 8285 1140 or maria@blueskyonline.co.uk
For further press information contact CSV Press Office: Paul Donohoe, 020 7812 0037/07779 624 385 pdonohoe@csv.org.uk or Jason Tanner, 020 7812 0038
Notes for Editors
1. In 2005/06, there were 3.8 million children living in UK households with below 60 per cent of median household income on an After Housing Costs basis, 2.8 million Before Housing Costs. This represents a fall of 0.6 million since 1998/99 on both a Before Housing Costs and After Housing Costs basis. The Households Below Average Income statistical report, Dept for Work and Pensions (May 2007). In 2005/6 there was an increase of 100,000 children in poverty.
2. Child Poverty UK Research, LVQ, 2007, commissioned by Dare to Care: Make time to help end child poverty: CSV and the Campaign to End Child Poverty.
3. CSV pioneered the idea of citizenship in schools, which is now part of the national curriculum and each year helps 20,000 young people become active members of their community. CSV Education trains volunteers to support children in care, runs leadership courses to raise the aspirations of students of all ages, organises peer mentoring end e-mentoring projects, encourages young people with special needs to volunteer and recruits university students to act as role models for primary school pupils. www.csv.org.uk