Words by Smiley Team
Winning in the 2020 Charity Film Awards came as a welcome boost for global charity The Salvation Army while they worked diligently to deal with mounting demand from beneficiaries due to lockdown.
The organisation won the People’s Choice award in the £100 million turnover category of the Charity Film Awards, for their film tackling modern slavery.
“Winning gave us something positive to talk about when we were in the middle of the first lockdown and everything was pretty grim,” said communication officer at The Salvation Army Isobel McFarlane.
“The Salvation Army, along with lots of other charities, were experiencing a massive increase in demand for our services and at the same time a dramatic drop in income as fundraising opportunities like charity shops and things came to a full stop. So the awards were a really positive experience.”
Their winning film, Hidden in Plain Sight, shone a spotlight on the various forms of slavery present in the UK today. A film crew from Fat Lemon production, offered their services to the charity and designed the film to spread awareness of how to recognise this societal problem.
“The awareness is absolutely key to combating modern slavery,” McFarlane explained. “We need the public to know what slavery looks like so that when they see something suspicious they report it. That’s the only way we’re going to rescue the 10s of 1000s of people that we estimate are still living in slave-like conditions in the UK.”
So the film presented the charity with a valuable opportunity to send their message further afield and potentially use it as a tool to rescue others from servitude.
McFarlane added: “It was really beneficial, not just to people in need but also to our clients, people we’re supporting. Anything that raises awareness amongst, for example, people working in local authorities or providing services to survivors is going to be helpful.”
After the pandemic hit, charities everywhere struggled to continue serving their beneficiaries, searching for new funding sources and moving services online. Those working for The Salvation Army’s campaign to tackle modern slavery had to maintain safe houses and support services for survivors under Covid-19 restrictions while turning to the internet to continue providing other services.
On top of this, they were re-awarded a government contract to continue supporting survivors of slavery over the next few years. This made their workload even larger, as staff implemented the new contract.
“It was a really difficult year,” McFarlane recalled. “In amongst that we didn’t have the resources that we might otherwise have had to help with raising awareness about modern slavery, and therefore this campaign and the award came at just the right time.”
The Salvation Army is an international Christian charity tackling a range of issues facing vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
Find more information about The Salvation Army’s campaign against modern slavery here.
If you or someone you know is suspected to have fallen victim to slavery call The Salvation Army’s 24-hour referral helpline on 0800 808 3733.
Support their work by donating here.
