These are examples from 2008 when 17000 pupils, teachers and parents stood up See full list at www.just1.org.uk/schools

The Just1 2009 StandUps Against Poverty and for the UN Millennium Development Goals
This page tells you about how any school can make a much-valued contribution

Click here to see the current lists of StandUp Schools
They total well over 600, and a Count of
150,000 pupils, staff, parents and others
with over 15,000 new in the last
couple of weeks

 

It's being shared by tens of thousands of pupils, teachers, parents, governors and others like you across the country.

Joining in StandUp Against Poverty is free, non-political and open to any group or individual, and needs hardly any material, is to join in.  And it lets school pupils of all ages take part in a worldwide show of solidarity without taking to the streets.

The basic requirement is to stand up and share the Promises to the Poor on Friday 16th October - the day before the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  Pupils can also take home their Promises so that families at home can join in.  In many places of worship, people will be doing the same during services over the three days. 

StandUps is a simple contribution to the worldwide 50 Days of Global Action Against Poverty organised each year by the Global Call to Action Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Development Campaign. Last year, 116 million took part in 130+ countries - including 60,000 in the UK and Ireland. Of these, 17,000 were in schools animated by Hugh Gibbons of Just1.  The likely total for 2009 is far, far higher on all counts. You can see something of what was done in 2008 - and get ideas for extra actions now at www.standagainstpoverty.org.

 
Click here if you'd like the school
to join in the 2009 Just1 StandUps,
be included in this year's Guinness World Record, and be on the Just1 list of StandUps Schools on this website

As before, you can take more action if you want.  So you might like to...

  Write Out Against Poverty with an all-school letter to the government
  Sing Out Against Poverty - compose your own StandUp Songs
  Share your good-citizenship news with the local press and radio
  Be a good neighbour - invite other local schools to join in
  Invite your member of parliament in to share the Promises to the Poor

Classroom posters to download and print out.
Just click on the pictures.

Thanks so much for being interested in the Schools StandUp Against Poverty.  Give yourselves a pat on the back now - and when you're done.

"Count us in" has been the common response by schools of all sorts and sizes when I've told them of the ideas for this year.  The basic idea's the same as last year - simple to understand and put into action. Just find a few minutes to stand up and share the Promises to the Poor. 

With StandUps, no money's involved.  And StandUps are non-political, ecumenical, and open to anyone.  As before, you can do more if you want.

So StandUps will have special appeals for pretty well all schools with a caring ethos - often as a different angle on a PSHE and RE topic with which young people have a special affinity. Faith schools will especially want to join in.

With Anglican and Roman Catholic schools, I'm inviting all bishops to declare theirs a StandUp Diocese, so you'll get encouragement from that direction. NB All schools in a StandUp Diocese are automatically enrolled as StandUp Schools, so it's worth holding on to see if your bishop has also said Count Us In. 

• Click here to check if you're already enrolled by being in a Catholic StandUp Diocese
• Click here to check if you're already enrolled by being in an Anglican StandUp Diocese

And you'll find the idea eco-friendly: download and print out or use only what you want for the school - avoiding another big bundle of straight-to-recycling paper...

You'll be with many other people.  During 16-18th October, most faith communities will follow the example of schools across the country - and share the same pledges.  And in 130+ countries around the world, over 100 million people will add their voices with their own standing up.

Can we count you in?  If so...

Eco-friendly!  The Promises and other material are available to download,
print out and photocopy only what you want. 
They come as four on an A4 sheet ready for cutting out - so pupils can easily have them in their hands and take them home to show and share with their families.
Click here to go


Many schools may like to follow up with a letter to the Prime Minister or other areas of government.  It's not a petition, but it is about the values and expectations of the good citizens of the country and world of the future. Click here or the birdie to find out more.

Many schools might like to get their name in the papers (and show good citizenship) by inviting their local MP to come along and share the Promises to the Poor.  Click here to find out more.

Many will also want to Sing Out Against Poverty, composing their own songs to some simple words.  Click here or the choir to find out more.

Most StandUp Schools will want to share their good story with the local papers and even radio, parents, and others. Click here or the newspaper to find out more.

And a nice addition is to think of inviting other local schools to join in -
a form of community cohesion that'll be much appreciated. Click here or the clapper to find out more.

With all best wishes - and thanks so much for standing up to be counted.

 

Conductor of Just1 StandUps 2009

10.32am on
17 October 2008

Year 6 at St Joseph's School
Catholic Primary School
in Bracknell UK standing up
to share the pledges
against poverty with local
 MP Andrew Mackay -
before leading  the whole
school in an afternoon assembly.
The Year had used
the occasion to discuss
the rights of the child,
and produced a fine
Unicef display poster.

And this is what appeared
nationally in The Universe
weekly newspaper - seen by
tens of thousands