The Big Issue celebrates 20 year anniversary

The Big Issue turns 20 this Friday and will celebrate with the release of an anniversary edition.

Vendors and supporters will come together at breakfast events around the country to mark the occasion, while ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Lord Mayors in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth will hit the streets to sell the magazine alongside vendors.

A small group of vendors sold the first copies of The Big Issue in Melbourne on June 16, 1996. The social enterprise, which provides job opportunities for homeless and disadvantaged Australians, has since spread nationally, with more than 550 vendors working around the country today.

Vendors buy copies for $3.50 and sell them for $7, keeping the difference. The organisation has expanded to include five additional programs and enterprises alongside the street magazine, including a subscription service providing employment to vulnerable women and a soccer program for homeless and disadvantaged players.

The Big Issue CEO Steven Persson said the organisation’s 20-year track record showed the value of developing solutions to help people help themselves.

Persson told Third Sector that people will be chasing the vendors to get a hold of the special edition magazine.

“The Big Issue has given thousands of people the opportunity to earn an income and reconnect with the community over the past 20 years,” Persson said.

“Everyone needs a second chance and sometimes even a second, second chance,” he told Third Sector. 

“The Australian community has embraced The Big Issue and its cause, with more than 10 million copies of the magazine sold in the past two decades. Our 20th anniversary is a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come and what we’ve achieved.”

Persson said the next twenty years will be about stopping poverty rather than just managing it.

Vendors will receive new fluro vests as part of the celebrations from Bank Australia who have a new partnership with the social enterprise.