Donate to the crowdfunding page and receive a Christmas gift bundle!
Offering unique tours to thousands of customers across the country, Invisible Cities trains people who have previously experienced homelessness, to become walking tour guides of their own city – Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, and York.
Following a year of country-wide lockdowns and a huge dip in the tourist industry, the social enterprise has announced a crowdfunding page where individuals can donate to Invisible Cities and its cause.
A social enterprise that doesn’t believe in labels or stereotypes, Invisible Cities’ mission is to show that everyone has great potential. Training focuses on confidence building, public speaking, and customer service, which not only offers the prospect of a better future, but also the skills to undertake these innovative walking tours. Each Invisible Cities recruit partners with a professional tour guide to build bespoke tours, practicing their routes and gaining further knowledge of their beloved city.
Zakia Moulaoui Guery, Founder & CEO of Invisible Cities CIC comments: “The safety of our guides and guests will always be a top priority for us. Due to the devastating effect of the global pandemic, we have had to pause all activities and tours, whilst of course continuing to support our guides, trainees and volunteers.
“Having all experienced homelessness, trauma, substance addiction, poverty, a history of poor mental health or learning difficulties, it is key that although the tourist industry may have all but stopped for now, our support of them, has not.”
Invisible Cities relies on the income from the walking tours to support its guides and trainees, so the national lockdown has seen a huge decrease in available resource.
The Crowdfunder offers the chance to donate to your chosen location, ensuring that the team in that city, benefits. Donations each coincide with a gift bundle that will arrive in time for Christmas, starting at just £5 and going to £30 or more.
Those who give £5 will receive a thank you video message from one of the guides in your chosen city, whilst top donations of £25 or more will receive a bundle of goodies including hand-written postcards, poetry, books and items from the local area. There is also a ‘Kids Bundle’ for £12 or more, for the little ones.
According to Shelter, an estimated 320,000 people are homeless in the UK. This equates to one in every 201 people living in the UK and was an increase of four per cent on the previous year’s number.
Shelter says its figures, which include rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation, are likely to be an underestimate of the problem as they do not capture people who experience “hidden” homelessness, such as sofa-surfers, and others living insecurely in sheds or cars, for example.
Crowdfunder is making community and charity crowdfunding projects completely free during the coronavirus crisis.
Invisible Cities have put together a Crowdfunder to allow the same level of support to their guides and the wider community to continue. A donation for Invisible Cities this Christmas means security and comfort for these individuals.
For more information visit https://invisible-cities.org/
To donate to the cause visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/invisible-cities-christmas
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