3Space is giving charities the chance to ‘hijack’ an empty retail unit for a pop-up project. As many properties on high streets across the country are now sitting empty, the charity is hoping to make use of this space with its new campaign, the High Street Hijack.
How can charities participate?
Charities are being asked to come up with innovative and creative ideas for how they could temporarily occupy these vacant spaces. They need to put together an application and apply online on the charity's dedicated website. The top five entries will then be chosen by a panel of judges, and there will be an online public vote for the winner on the charity's Facebook page. Charities must submit their entries by 10 November. The winner will be announced on 1 December.
What exactly do they win?
The winning charity will get free use of an empty retail unit and will receive up to £1,500 to facilitate the project, which needs to be memorable and provide a benefit to the surrounding community as well as the organisation. Entrants have the chance to choose from a list of 25 properties across the UK.
Why is the charity doing the campaign?
Andrew Cribb, director of 3Space, said: "Lots of questions are being asked about what can be done about our struggling high streets and town centres, specifically with regard to empty shops. Social organisations are integral to this solution - they need the rich community interaction that can't be found online or in supermarkets. It's exciting to think that High Street Hijack could provide us with the first glimpse of the town centre experience of the future."
Third Sector verdict:
This simple campaign will appeal to many charities that will want to benefit from the free space inside one of the vacant buildings. The charity has successfully tapped into a hot topic about how high-street shops have been struggling and how many are closing, leaving vacant stores.
