Stuart WoodLove for the Streets is a non-profit social enterprise based in Manchester, which is utilising the power of live events to take on homelessness and other social issues.
The group began as a grassroots collaboration between Jonah Ogbuneke (managing director, pictured right) and Lily Fothergill (events and community director, middle right above), who organised a charity fundraiser event for the Big Change Fund.
The event was a success, and quickly began to grow into a larger-scale campaign. It demonstrated the potential for music, art & culture to bring people together over social issues.
More recently, Love for the Streets has staged a Homelessness Art Exhibition, as well as the Food For Thought Festival in Manchester.
The Homelessness Art Exhibition brought students from Manchester School of Art together, using skills they picked up from their degrees to run workshops at local homeless shelters. The art produced from these workshops was then displayed to an audience of 1,425 people at the Whitworth Art Gallery, alongside work by the artist David Tovey.
The Food For Thought Festival saw music students from universities across Manchester taking part in ‘sound-clashes’ with established artists in the city’s music scene.
It gave attendees the option to bring four cans of food for entry instead of paying for tickets, in an effort to support Manchester Central Foodbank and unify the student community in the region. The event saw about 1,200 people attend, collecting 875kg of food and £1,000 for the foodbank.
Fothergill commented: “Through our events and digital marketing we aim to encourage and facilitate opportunities for students to give back to the city, rather than being passive members of society during their years here.
“This past year has been an incredible roller-coaster! From launching Love For The Streets as a student campaign to seeing to evolve into a social enterprise. It wouldn’t have been possible without our core team of Jack Houghton and Ella Marshall, as well as the many volunteers that have contributed.”
If you’d like to learn more about Love For The Streets, you can find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/loveforthestreetsmcr/?ref=br_rs
Or via email at: info@loveforthestreets.com