# Challenge Poverty Week 2019 Challenge Poverty Week has been coordinated by the Poverty Alliance for the last seven years, and it is an opportunity for third sector organisations to highlight what they are doing address poverty, showcase the solutions we can all get behind to solve it and commit to more action in the future. The campaign takes place from the 7th to the 13th October 2019. Last year nearly 200 events were organised by 130 organisations and elected representatives as part of Challenge Poverty Week. The campaign also received cross-party support, with leaders of all major political parties in Scotland taking part. The key messages for this year’s Challenge Poverty Week are: Challenge Poverty in Scotland?  Aye, we can! •     Too many people in Scotland are trapped in the grip of poverty •     By boosting incomes and reducing costs we can solve poverty •     Solving poverty is about ensuring we can all participate in society **Why not take part?** You can get involved in Challenge Poverty Week by organising an activity or creating communications content. You can, for example: * Organise a themed discussion * Have an open day at your organisation * Write a blog, make a video or talk to the media about the solutions to poverty * Speak to a local politician about what needs to be done To get more ideas on how to take part, ask us for a copy of our **activity toolkit.** Email Irene at [irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org](mailto:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org) We are hoping to get substantial media coverage of the participant’s actions on a local and national level, with a focus on ensuring most of them use the **framed messages** and content we are disseminating for the Week. These messages are based on research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on public attitudes towards poverty and the most effective ways to build support to solve it by using framed language. We are offering **free training** to all participants in the Week about the learnings from this research on framing, with a focus on how to use language effectively when engaging with the media. You can learn more and sign up on our website: **www.challengepoverty.net** **The solutions we are advocating** We believe we can end poverty by boosting people’s incomes and reducing the cost of living. **Employers** can play their part by ensuring every worker is paid the real Living Wage. **Governments** at all levels must ensure that **social security** benefits are adequate to help loosen the grip of poverty and provide an anchor against the rising tide of low pay and high housing costs. Governments should invest in **affordable and accessible services** including transport, heating and childcare. Community groups and **voluntary organisations** have a vital role to play providing support, giving advice and mitigating the impact of poverty. **Objectives for this year’s edition** The majority of participants in 2018 were third sector organisations, followed by elected representatives, and a smaller number of very active faith-based organisations and local authorities. The rest were public sector organisations and trade unions. This year we hope to keep counting on strong support from the voluntary sector, alongside more active local authorities. We are also targeting more faith-based organisations and charities whose work is not directly anti-poverty, which we hope will help our message reach further. **How can we help you?** The Poverty Alliance will give all the support we can to help you participate in the Week. This support will include: * Provide an **activity toolkit** to help you get involved. Ask Campaigns Officer Irene for a copy:[irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org](mailto:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org) * Provide **free training** on media and how to build support for the solutions to poverty * Promote your activity through local media, social media and our event calendar * Give individualised advice. (Email Irene at [irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org](mailto:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org)) * Provide social media graphics, media templates, lesson plans and petition letters **Together we can challenge poverty** Challenge Poverty Week is a real, practical opportunity to build a stronger movement against poverty and demonstrate our values of justice and compassion. At a time when life is becoming tougher for many people, it is vital that we build support for solving poverty. To find out more and get involved: Website: [**www.challengepoverty.net**](http://www.challengepoverty.net) Twitter: [**@CPW\_Scotland** on Twitter](https://twitter.com/CPW_Scotland) Email:[**irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org**](mailto:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org) Phone number: **07561881374** --- ## About SCVO SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector. Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact. SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector. Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners. Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored learning opportunities. SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience. Discounts and savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org). For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)