- Aviva to commit 50% of its worldwide charitable donations budget to Aviva Street to School, alongside significant customer involvement
- UK charity partnership launched today with Railway Children
- Aviva Street to School to be rolled out internationally with additional charity partners.
Aviva today announces the launch of Aviva Street to School, its new international community investment programme. This programme aims to improve the lives of thousands of street children and young people around the world by helping them get off the streets and into education and training.
The programme will run for a minimum of five years from 2010, and will include support for street children projects in the 28 markets that Aviva operates in around the world as well as staff fund-raising and volunteering opportunities. Aviva will also engage its customers in Aviva Street to School.
Aviva’s businesses around the world will select local charity partners to support the needs of children living or working on the streets in their country. As part of this, Aviva today launches its UK charity partnership with Railway Children whose work focuses on the relief of the estimated 100,000 children and young people under the age of 16 who run away from home each year in the UK. Aviva will support two areas of Railway Children’s work: offering immediate support to young people already on the street; and setting up preventative and early intervention programmes through schools.
In addition, Aviva has chosen to work with Save the Children as its international charity partner and will support its Aviva Street to School programmes in India.
Marie Sigsworth, group corporate responsibility director, Aviva, said: “Aviva Street to School enables us to use the strength and scale of Aviva as an international group to make a difference where it really matters. Children living and working on the streets is a global issue, and we want to recognise these children. We look forward to working with Railway Children and our other charity partners to help build a better future for these young people.”
Terina Keene, chief executive, Railway Children, commented: “We all share the responsibility of helping society’s most marginalised and vulnerable, which is why our new UK partnership with Aviva Street to School is such a critical step in the right direction. As evidenced by the research we have published today, effective early intervention hangs on our commitment to understand the harsh realities of street life, and the needs of children and their families most at risk. Without this, society will continue to pay as support services struggle to protect the most vulnerable.”
