Without migration there would be no fish and chips!
News provided by Fixers on Tuesday 10th Sep 2013
A young woman from Exmouth is asking what life in the UK would be like without fish and chips, cups of tea, chocolate or even Winston Churchill.
Frustrated by the views some people have about migrants, Fixer Rugile Zoryte, 17, is showing how other cultures have influenced life and traditions in the UK with a unique set of posters.
“My family are Lithuanians and we’ve been living in Exmouth for the past five years,” says Rugile.
“We decided to move to England because of the high unemployment in Lithuania. I’ve had a really good experience living here, the people are very friendly but the media often portrays immigrants in a very negative light.
“My Fixers project is all about trying to break down the stereotypes that people often have about immigrants.”
Working with Fixers, a charity which supports young people to ‘fix the future’, Rugile has created a set of unique posters showing migration in a positive way.
“I think people are often influenced by the media – it’s only the criminals that get in to the newspapers; not good hard working people,” says Rugile.
“Both my parents work here in England. My mother works as a care provider, my father works as a tailor and he also has a second job in a fast food restaurant.
“They both work very, very long hours but it is worth it because we can afford to have a day out as a family.
“Of course I understand why some people might feel negative about people coming here from other countries.
“We have created the posters to show that some of the things that we think of as being symbols of Britain have actually come from different origins.
“Things such as chocolate being brought over from Mexico, Winston Churchill who was half American, and Moh Farrah, one of our main stars from British athletics, is actually an immigrant.”
Dave Wright, Hate Crime Prevention Coordinator at Devon County Council, supports Rugile’s project.
He says: “I think Rugile’s project is excellent, really raising awareness of the positive contribution that migration makes to the economy to the cultural life of Devon.
“We have a diverse community, people from all over the world live and work in Devon.”
Fixers is charity which supports young people across the UK to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about.
How each Fixer tackles their chosen issue is up to them – as long as they benefit someone else.
The award-winning Fixers project has already supported over 8,700 young people to have an authentic voice in their community.
Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need - such as films, websites or print work - to make their chosen project a success.
Now, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers aims to work with a further 19,000 young people over the next three years.
“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by over 8,700 young people over the past five years,” says Margo Horsley, Fixers Chief Executive.
“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Fixers are always courageous and their ideas can be challenging and life-changing, not just for themselves.”
Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is extremely happy to be supporting Fixers to engage with more young people to change things for the better. Thousands of public-spirited young people across the UK are campaigning to make improvements in their own communities. By providing a platform to highlight their voluntary work and many achievements, Fixers demonstrates the positive contribution thousands of committed young people are making at a local level and challenges negative stereotypes.”
For images, interviews or more information, please contact Maggie Morgan in the Fixers Communications Team by email maggie@fixers.org.uk or phone 01962 810970.
There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on the Fixers website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
http://www.fixers.org.uk
http://www.twitter.com/FixersUK
http://www.facebook.com/FixersUK
Notes to editors:
• Fixers started in England in 2008. Now with a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers is extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. To date, over 8,700 young people across the UK have become Fixers and created 1,000 projects.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
Frustrated by the views some people have about migrants, Fixer Rugile Zoryte, 17, is showing how other cultures have influenced life and traditions in the UK with a unique set of posters.
“My family are Lithuanians and we’ve been living in Exmouth for the past five years,” says Rugile.
“We decided to move to England because of the high unemployment in Lithuania. I’ve had a really good experience living here, the people are very friendly but the media often portrays immigrants in a very negative light.
“My Fixers project is all about trying to break down the stereotypes that people often have about immigrants.”
Working with Fixers, a charity which supports young people to ‘fix the future’, Rugile has created a set of unique posters showing migration in a positive way.
“I think people are often influenced by the media – it’s only the criminals that get in to the newspapers; not good hard working people,” says Rugile.
“Both my parents work here in England. My mother works as a care provider, my father works as a tailor and he also has a second job in a fast food restaurant.
“They both work very, very long hours but it is worth it because we can afford to have a day out as a family.
“Of course I understand why some people might feel negative about people coming here from other countries.
“We have created the posters to show that some of the things that we think of as being symbols of Britain have actually come from different origins.
“Things such as chocolate being brought over from Mexico, Winston Churchill who was half American, and Moh Farrah, one of our main stars from British athletics, is actually an immigrant.”
Dave Wright, Hate Crime Prevention Coordinator at Devon County Council, supports Rugile’s project.
He says: “I think Rugile’s project is excellent, really raising awareness of the positive contribution that migration makes to the economy to the cultural life of Devon.
“We have a diverse community, people from all over the world live and work in Devon.”
Fixers is charity which supports young people across the UK to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about.
How each Fixer tackles their chosen issue is up to them – as long as they benefit someone else.
The award-winning Fixers project has already supported over 8,700 young people to have an authentic voice in their community.
Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need - such as films, websites or print work - to make their chosen project a success.
Now, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers aims to work with a further 19,000 young people over the next three years.
“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by over 8,700 young people over the past five years,” says Margo Horsley, Fixers Chief Executive.
“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Fixers are always courageous and their ideas can be challenging and life-changing, not just for themselves.”
Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is extremely happy to be supporting Fixers to engage with more young people to change things for the better. Thousands of public-spirited young people across the UK are campaigning to make improvements in their own communities. By providing a platform to highlight their voluntary work and many achievements, Fixers demonstrates the positive contribution thousands of committed young people are making at a local level and challenges negative stereotypes.”
For images, interviews or more information, please contact Maggie Morgan in the Fixers Communications Team by email maggie@fixers.org.uk or phone 01962 810970.
There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on the Fixers website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
http://www.fixers.org.uk
http://www.twitter.com/FixersUK
http://www.facebook.com/FixersUK
Notes to editors:
• Fixers started in England in 2008. Now with a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers is extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. To date, over 8,700 young people across the UK have become Fixers and created 1,000 projects.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of Fixers, on Tuesday 10 September, 2013. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
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Without migration there would be no fish and chips!
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