On Sunday 9th July, five fitness fundraisers are taking on the ASICS 10K in aid of Z2K! To support their efforts and help us continue to fight poverty, please consider donating to their fundraising pages below.
Jagna – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Rob – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Clare – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Amelia – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Alex – GivePenny | #10KforZ2
Z2K’s vision is that no individual in the UK should live in poverty. Between 2020-2022, we were able to secure over £4.2 million in financial benefit for our clients through our free in-depth and holistic advice, support, and representation at tribunals, supporting them to realise their rights and resolve their social security and housing problems. Informed by the lived and learnt experience of experts by experience (EbyE) our national policy influencing and campaigning then seeks to improve the policies and practices driving poverty in the UK, creating a greater need for our advice services.
“I cooperate with Z2K through my work as a researcher for the Public Law Project, a charity focused on access to justice. I was able to grasp the passion of Z2K’s team to support their clients, but also their readiness to share their experiences with civil society, scrutinise the governmental policies and develop evidence-based recommendations.
Especially in the middle of the cost of living crisis, such comprehensive, valuable work is instrumental to fight poverty and injustice.“
At Z2K we are 100% reliant on fundraising to sustain our casework and support services and campaigning activities, so we can only continue to support our client base with the help of our amazing supporters. Z2K spends 94p in every £1 on charitable activities, meaning your contributions directly impact clients in need of support.
“In 2020, I undertook pro bono casework for Z2K and gained firsthand insight into how hard they work to support people in need of assistance. I was proud to successfully appeal the decisions in all of my client’s cases.
Without Z2K connecting us, my clients would not have had the support they needed to navigate the system in order to secure the financial benefits and housing they need.“
We’ve asked all five fitness fundraisers to commit to a £250 fundraising target (one of our runners has even increased their target to £500!), which could cover the cost of our enquiries helpline for one month so clients can access specialist advice and support, or provide a crisis payment to cover the cost of food, energy top-up or other essentials while our caseworkers work with the client to resolve the issues preventing them from accessing a stable income and adequate housing.
“I came across Z2K at work as our firm provides them with pro bono support from time to time. Z2K are a fantastic organisation, raising money to help fight poverty in the UK.
I was very moved when I found out that 1 in 4 people in the UK now live in poverty. This just shouldn’t be and I’m grateful to play a part, however small, in helping to change that.“
Our five fundraisers are racing in aid of Z2K so we can help more clients like this avoid further poverty and homelessness:
Our client, a disabled single parent with two children was unable to afford her rent. She was living in private rented accommodation and subject to the “benefit cap”, an absolute limit on the amount of benefits a person can receive, which can have a massive impact on Londoners due to high private sector rents. She had a shortfall of over £500 a month in her rent, mounting rent areas and was in a dire financial state. We challenged DWP decisions on her behalf. We secured the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit and at a Tribunal were successful in obtaining an award of Personal Independence Payment. As well as increasing her current income, this meant she was exempt from the benefit cap and so able to pay her rent. She received £12,000 in arrears of UC and her income increased by over £1000 a month.
Our intervention prevented unsustainable rent arrears, probable eviction and most likely a homelessness application to the Council. The client’s increased income is likely to be spent in local shops and the wellbeing of the client and her children improved.
Cases like the one above are why we are so grateful for our racers choosing to fundraise for Z2K, with their support we can continue to represent clients and help them secure stable incomes. If you are able, we would be grateful if you could sponsor our runners by visiting their fundraising pages:
Jagna – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Rob – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Clare – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Amelia – GivePenny | #10KforZ2K
Alex – GivePenny | #10KforZ2
Donating as little as £5 contributes to our ability to help ensure more low-income Londoners secure their legal rights and entitlements and maintain their tenancies.
£10 could support our policy and campaigns work to create systemic change
£20 could provide representation for someone at Tribunal when they are wrongfully denied disability benefits
£50 could help provide emergency food shopping for a family struggling with the cost-of-living rises
Thank you for your support, and good luck to our runners!
To discuss fundraising for Z2K or getting involved in our work, please contact Alison our Fundraising Assistant via the link below.
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