In celebration of the UK’s LGBTQ+ History Month, a month that aims to excite, inform, and celebrate everything about the diverse LGBTQ+ community, employees at the global home-swapping platform Love Home Swap are raising money for the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) by encouraging others to take part in the #distrAKTion challenge.
The #distrAKTion challenge is split into 3 simple steps – participate, nominate and donate! Simply share a photo of yourself doing your hobby, nominate 5 friends to share their hobby, then donate £5 to akt via the charity fundraising page.
From bird-spotting to learning a new language or playing an instrument to completing a jigsaw the idea behind the challenge is to proudly flood your social media channels with the hobbies you’ve started since the first lockdown in spring 2020 – no matter how silly, mundane or downright bizarre they are! Employees want to celebrate all the things we are enjoying and finding comfort in whilst staying home, while celebrating the rich history of the LGBTQ+ community this LGBT+ History Month.
Set up in 1989, akt is a voluntary organisation based in England that supports those aged 16-25 of the LGBTQ+ community who are experiencing homelessness or other housing challenges. The charity helps young people find safe homes and can support with things like employment, education and training in an environment that celebrates LGBTQ+ identities. As well as the #distrAKTion challenge, over the next year the employees of Love Home Swap aim to fundraise through activities such as bake sales, pub quizzes, auctions and sweepstakes and individual fitness challenges.
Celia Pronto, Managing Director of Love Home Swap says:
“It’s really important for the Love Home Swap team to champion a charity that we feel connected to, and I am incredibly proud that we have chosen the Albert Kennedy Trust. The charity does such important work and was selected because of their commitment to supporting young people from the LGBTQ+ community who are facing homelessness or other housing challenges. We’re committed to enabling their incredible work with the funds we raise. This year has demonstrated just how essential a safe and secure home is for all of us, and it’s also been a year where we’ve realised how important it is for people to come together to help those in need. I’m so proud of how much has already been raised and can’t wait to see what we achieve this year.”
Bex Shorunke, Senior Media Officer from takt says: “We really appreciate Love Home Swap selecting akt as their Charity of the Year. We have seen a massive spike in referrals to our services, with a 118% increase in new referrals between April to August this year, compared with the same period in 2019. Fundraising plays a crucial role in enabling us to continue delivering much needed support to LGBTQ+ young people during this challenging time. We thank Love Home Swap for raising awareness around the work we do and look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour!”
For more information and inspiration follow this link to the blog dedicated to the fundraiser: http://lovehomeswap.com/distraktion
