Heist x International Women’s Day
To mark International Women’s Day, a day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe, we are honoured to have partnered with The Prince’s Trust to support its Change A Girl’s Life campaign.
The campaign supports young women across the UK who are struggling to find a job or losing hope for the future, and all funds raised will go towards providing these women with life-changing guidance from The Prince’s Trust. From the 6th - 8th March, we will be donating £1 from every Heist product sold to this incredible cause.
This is something that we as business, and as individuals, feel strongly about supporting. The impact of the pandemic has taken its toll so many people, especially young women, and many of them need our help more than ever. We are committed to driving change for the next generation which is why the work that The Prince’s Trust does, to enable and empower young women, is so important. Instilling the confidence and skills that these individuals need to move into the next stage in their life is the positive action that needs to happen. So this is a call to arms to join us in championing the initiative and helping to Change A Girl’s Life.
Research has shown that the global pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on young women’s mental health, economic stability and job security. Many of these young women already face existing challenges ranging from growing up in the care system, trauma from sexual abuse and involvement with the criminal justice system.
The following statistics underpin just how devastating the last twelve months have been for women across the UK.
The #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign offers meaningful support to young women on their journey of positive change. We wanted to shine a light on one of many inspiring stories by sharing the experience of a young woman mentored within the scheme; meet Aisa.
Aisa Xena:
“Aisa now works, lives independently and is happy. This wasn’t always the case. After her parents split, her life was quite disruptive. Aisa became estranged from her family, had to deal with mental health issues, became homeless, began to drink and was placed in foster care. Aisa’s life was spiralling out of control, she felt low and knew she couldn’t continue to live this way.
“Aisa joined The Prince’s Trust Team programme and it offered her the support she was looking for. Aisa’s confidence grew, she started to believe in herself and her future. As well securing a new job through Team, she also became a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador.” ( https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/about-the-trust/success-stories/aisa-xena)
Stories like Aisa’s are truly inspiring, however, it is vital that support of young women in these communities goes beyond International Women’s Day. We are committed to playing a part in this, and will be enrolling on the Government's Kickstarter employment programme, a programme which aims to give unemployed people aged 16-24 paid work experience. We will be offering 6 month employment opportunities to young people at the London Living Wage. In this way we hope to do what we can to boost young people’s confidence and be a stepping stone in their career development.
This is about supporting the next generation.
