£5, 5 days to End Extreme Poverty:
UK called upon to Live Below The Line for The Hunger Project
London, UK – Live Below the Line, the UK’s only experiential fundraising campaign supporting partner
charity, The Hunger Project UK, will once again be challenging people to live on just £1 a day for five
days this April.
Now in its fourth year, Live Below the Line inspires action for the world’s poorest people. By living on
just £1 for food and drink for 5 days, participants raise both vital funds to support The Hunger Project’s
programmes around the world and help change perspectives on the issues relating to extreme
poverty.
This year’s campaign will take place from 28th April – 2nd May 2014 with people across the UK, the
United States and Canada being sponsored to live on just £1 a day. Funds raised for The Hunger Project
will be used for sustainable development projects around the world that are mobilising people to end
their own hunger and poverty in 15,000 village communities.
Following on from the success of last year, which raised over £2.7 million for anti-poverty initiatives
worldwide (including nearly £1 million funds raised in the UK from 5,500 participants), with celebrity
support from Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Arlene Phillips (Strictly Come
Dancing), Joseph Morgan (Vampire Diaries), and Ben Affleck; this year’s campaign is set to be the
biggest yet.
Mark Speirs, The Hunger Project UK’s Head of Fundraising said: “Live Below the Line is the fastest
growing UK fundraising campaign and The Hunger Project are delighted to be part of the campaign for
a second year.
This initiative is all about reaching new and existing audiences in exciting and surprising ways - with
the single aim of encouraging even more people to step up and support the work of The Hunger
Project UK and its work to bring a sustainable end to Hunger and Poverty.”
Mark continued:-
“The Hunger Project UK seeks to inspire those suffering from Chronic Persistent Hunger to take action
and believe in their own ability to create sustainable futures for themselves and the communities in
which they live.
Live Below the Line is your opportunity right here in the UK to step up in solidarity with our 395,000
locally trained volunteer leaders who are reaching 19 million women, children and men with a handup not just a hand-out.
Although Live Below the Line can never fully recreate what it’s like to live in extreme poverty, it gives
people an invaluable insight into the kind of tough decisions 1.2 billion people face globally every day.
This year we hope to do even better and need your support - sign up to the challenge today and help
further inspire and educate people on the issues of poverty and encourage those in the UK and
elsewhere to take greater and more effective action.”
For further information about the campaign, and to sign up to the challenge, please visit
thehungerproject.org.uk
facebook.com/TheHungerProjectUK @hungerprojectuk @lblthp
£5, 5 days to End Extreme Poverty
-
ENDS
-
For press enquiries, photo requests or more information regarding #belowtheline please contact Mark Speirs
on 07595 222354 or email mark.speirs@thp.org
Note to Editors:
About The Hunger Project
In Africa, South Asia and Latin America, The Hunger Project seeks to end Hunger and Poverty by empowering
people to lead lives of self-reliance, meet their own basic needs and build better futures for their children. The
Hunger Project operates in 12 Programme Countries, supporting over 15,000 partner communities’ end their
own Hunger.
About Live Below the Line and The Hunger Project
Live Below the Line is an initiative of which The Hunger Project is a participating charity. Live Below the Line
currently takes place in three countries – the UK, the USA, and Australia. It challenges people to live below the
poverty line for 5 days each year, and use their experiences to create conversations and raise awareness of the
issue of extreme poverty. £5, 5 days to End Extreme Poverty.
Why £1 a day?
The World Bank has developed an objective way of saying what it means to be in extreme poverty, and
therefore how many people are trapped in this scenario. They set an ‘Extreme Poverty Line’, stating that
anyone who survived on less than this amount per day would be considered to live in extreme poverty. Since
2005, this line has been set at $1.25 per day in the USA. This is calculated for each country using Purchasing
Power Parities, and for the UK has been calculated to be £1.