As the sun shone on Wednesday 2nd July Zoe Rainey and Ben Stock were relieved that their short experience of selling The Big Issue on the streets of central London would at least be in pleasant weather! They weren’t sure exactly what to expect from the other elements of their time with their vendor mentor, but I think it’s fair to say they were both surprised by how hard work the job is, the great feeling they got from selling a magazine and the reflections they had on the people who were passing them by.
As the sun shone on Wednesday 2nd July Zoe Rainey and Ben Stock were relieved that their short experience of selling The Big Issue on the streets of central London would at least be in pleasant weather! They weren’t sure exactly what to expect from the other elements of their time with their vendor mentor, but I think it’s fair to say they were both surprised by how hard work the job is, the great feeling they got from selling a magazine and the reflections they had on the people who were passing them by.
Zoe took to twitter to tell her followers what she was up to and why, and Ben posted his pitch on facebook, which secured him three sales from friends!
On the streets for just over 1 hour they sold 9 magazines between them, thanks to their positivity and to the support shown to them by their vendor mentors Roel and Gary.
Reflecting on his experience Ben said “Selling The Big Issue was an enlightening and humbling experience. I’d never really thought that hard about the realities for the vendors. I’d encourage others to sign up for this unique experience.”. For Zoe it was particularly eye-opening “Stage Swap taught me so much about The Big Issue Foundation which destroyed any misconceptions I had inherited from others. The Big Issue vendors inspired me as they are people who are taking their current situation into their own hands and making a future for themselves with the support and encouragement of the Foundation”
Their time on the streets was part of Stage Swap and there will be another event for actors and performers in late September. To register your interest in taking part please complete the form.
