Foresters Sponsor a Tech Timeout at the Big City Sleep to Raise Awareness of the Plight of Street Children Worldwide

    BROMLEY, ENGLAND, November 01, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Highlighting the vulnerability of children living on the streets, a fund and awareness-raising event, called the Big City Sleep, took place on the evening of Friday 24 October.

Over 50 people slept on bits of cardboard on the floor of the Old Spitalfields Market, London, for the evening, raising in excess of GBP15,000 for the organising childrens' charities Street Child World Cup and Action for Brazil's Children Trust.

The event challenges volunteer 'sleepers' to get through one night in order to gain a perspective of what street children have to endure on a nightly basis.

As part of the Big City Sleep, Foresters the member-focused financial services organisation, sponsored participants to take a Tech Timeout and stop using technology for one hour during the event.

This hour was dedicated to participants getting closer to the real experience that street children face with no access to telecommunications, social media and other technology that many of us take for granted.

Steve Dilworth, Managing Director Foresters Member Network UK, says: "The Big City Sleep event was a fantastic way to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children worldwide sleeping on the streets.

"By banning the use of technology, we believe it further enhanced the volunteer sleepers' experience of what it would be like to live on the streets and allowed them to gain a sense of just how vulnerable these children truly are. Many of us take comfort in the access to the outside world a mobile phone provides us with, and in asking participants to not use their devices for just one hour they were able to understand on a much deeper level the true isolation street children feel and the challenges they face."

Street Child World Cup volunteer David Lyons was one of the sleepers at the event and described the sense of isolation he felt sleeping on the streets. He also learnt from other volunteers who had been to Brazil to meet and live with some street children first hand how childrens' families are being torn apart by war, being drawn into gang and drug culture, enduring hunger, violence and worse.

He sums the event up: "My abiding insight of the night was of the vulnerability of being on the streets. I was in a group of 50 people, with a security guard, yet the thought of being asleep in the open as city life went on around me made me nervous. How terrified I would be if I were truly sleeping on the street, and how much that would exacerbate the levels of stress and exhaustion, I can barely begin to imagine.

"Before Friday I'd never slept on the streets before, but now I have. It has only increased my determination to help tackle homelessness: No child should have to live on the streets."

For more information on the Big City Sleep initiative, visit http://streetchildworldcup.org/ and http://www.abctrust.org.uk/.

Visit Tech Timeout and pledge to give up technology for one hour every day for a week at techtimeout.com.

ABOUT FORESTERS:

At Foresters we believe in enriching the lives of our members, their families and the communities they live in. We're member-based, family-focused, and community spirited.

Our products benefit both your family and your community. We champion the well-being of families through quality financial products, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities.

We share our financial strength with over one million members across the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Throughout our 140-year history, our purpose has been to enrich the lives of members, their families and communities. The priorities remain today and will guide our future.

As an example, our work with Cash for Kids in their 2013 Mission Christmas Appeal helped over 278,000 children to have a better Christmas. The whole campaign raised GBP8m and involved 1,463 Foresters volunteers and is part of Foresters, the international financial services organisation.

Internationally, Foresters has over GBP14bn* funds under management and has been assigned an 'A' excellent rating by A.M. Best.**

Safeguarding our members' interests is at the heart of what we do. Being financially strong and responsive, with sound governance and continuing professional service have always helped us to protect our members' benefits.

*As at 31st December 2013

** An 'A' excellent rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by A.M. Best Company. In assigning Foresters rating A.M. Best stated that Foresters outlook rating is 'stable', which means it is unlikely to change in the near future, assuming Foresters financial strength is maintained and operations grow. A.M. Best assigns rating from A to F, A being superior and A and A- being excellent ratings. This rating was assigned on 3rd July 2013. Our International Head Office is located at 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9.

DAC Ref No. 2013321 FM/CO 01/15

ABOUT TECH TIMEOUT:

Tech Timeout has been launched in the UK/Canada and USA for over a year and is an initiative which encourages families to take a daily scheduled break from technology and disconnect from electronic devices, in order to reconnect with each other.

By putting down devices for just a short while each day, it is hoped families participating in the Tech Timeout challenge will be enabled to spend more quality time with each other whilst exploring new and fun ways to spend their 'tech-free' time together.

Taking part is easy! To challenge yourself and your family to some digital downtime, visit techtimeout.com to sign the online pledge to disconnect from technology for one hour each day for a week. (Since launch we have seen over 16,747 downloads of the pledge.)

Foresters purpose is to champion family well-being and through encouraging families to moderate their daily attachment to technology, seeks to help families find time to communicate more personally with one another and enjoy quality time together.

ABOUT STREET CHILD WORLD CUP:

Street Child World Cup in association with Save the Children provides a global platform for the voices of street children to be heard so that they receive the protection, rehabilitation and opportunities that all children are entitled to. Through football, the arts and an international summit for street children's rights we challenge the negative perceptions and treatment of street children.

Our flagship event is the Street Child World Cup tournament. In 2014 the beautiful game returned to its spiritual home: Brazil. In April, ahead of the FIFA World Cup the second-ever Street Child World Cup took place in Rio de Janeiro, uniting teams of street children from 19 countries, drawing from a network of outstanding projects all campaigning for the rights of street children and their message was clear: I AM SOMEBODY.

Since the Street Child World Cup Rio 2014, Team Pakistan lead a countrywide tour culminating in a national resolution to better protect the rights of 1.5m Pakistani street children. The Brazilian Government has invited Team Brazil to host a summit on the national policy for street children. Team Kenya's captain now sits on the Mombasa Children's Assembly advising on the rights of Kenya's street children. Team Tanzania shared their triumphs with the Prime Minister of Tanzania.
No child should have to live on the streets.

Street Child World Cup is an initiative of UK registered charity Street Child United. Charity No. 1144951.

ABOUT ACTION FOR BRAZIL'S CHILDREN TRUSTS (ABC Trust):

Action for Brazil's Children Trust supports grass roots community projects to transform the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people in Brazil. For more information www.abctrust.org.uk

Registered Charity Number:1069022

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