Billboard Campaign to Support Homeless

An Australian social enterprise is giving away 100,000 billboard ‘photo spots’ as part of a new social media campaign to support homeless and disadvantaged women.

The Big Issue’s ‘Share for a Square’ campaign asks people to upload their photo into the image of the Women’s Subscription Enterprise icon through a Facebook application.

By sharing their photo via Facebook or Twitter, the image is allocated a square on an online billboard. Those who buy a magazine subscription are allocated 100 squares.

The Big Issue, which publishes a fortnightly magazine which is sold on the street by authorised vendors, says all the images will be used to generate real billboards promoting the Women’s Subscription Enterprise, which employs vulnerable women to pack subscription copies of its publication.

The Big Issue’s Emma O’Halloran said that the social media campaign was a first for the national social enterprise and one that could make a tangible difference to the lives of some of the estimated 46,000 women homeless in Australia each night.

“For every 100 subscriptions of The Big Issue magazine sold, we can employ one woman through the Women’s Subscription Enterprise,” O’Halloran said.

“They receive an income as well as access to accredited training and support, giving them improved confidence and a brighter outlook for the future.

“We felt social media was a powerful tool to connect with our readers and the wider public. Regardless of whether they buy a subscription or simply support the campaign, they are helping us spread the word about this life-changing initiative,” she said.

The Big Issue says it hopes to fill five online billboards – or 100,000 squares – over the next three weeks, with the aim of printing and displaying the real billboards nationally in 2013.