Raising the Bar for Social Justice in the UK

“Nearly half of young men, and two thirds of young women in custody aged between 16 and 21 have recently been in statutory care.” – House of Commons Justice Committee (UK)

According to the list of risk factors identified by the UK Home Office, “Being in care (particularly those in residential care and those with interrupted care histories)” is one of the key drivers behind child criminal exploitation. Despite that connection, as of 2019, there was no centralized plan in place in the UK to address that.

The Cause

The Big House (TBH) is a nonprofit in Great Britain that gives young people who are finding life difficult — and who’ve also been through the care system — access to creative programs, the performing arts, and the behavioral resources they need.

“Our aim is to get a young person comfortable in their own shoes, [to help them] manage their emotions, communicate well, and to realize their goals.” – Maggie Norris, Founder, CEO + Artistic Director, The Big House

Founded in 2013 by writer and director Maggie Norris, who also has extensive experience working with ex-offenders, TBH provides a support network and a platform for self-expression to the care community.

Often as a result of their experiences, care leavers find themselves at a higher risk of entering the criminal justice system. This trend holds especially true for young teenagers in the UK, and, for young women in particular, it can also increase their likelihood of repeat, or worsening future offenses.

“Care leavers are estimated to represent between 24-27% of the adult prison population [in the UK]… despite less than 1% of under 18s entering local authority care each year.” – Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (UK)

To counter that, The Big House gives its community the behavioral tools, support, and the opportunities young people need to get a better footing in life. The organization also lends its dynamic and thought-provoking presence to the UK Arts scene.

Finally, TBH also happens to help save British taxpayers thousands of British Pounds (GBP) for every young person who avoids falling into the criminal justice system: a penal system which costs 4.37 billion GBP to operate in 2019-20 alone.

“How do we get that message out there to the public, that organizations like this are worth investing in?” – Maggie Norris, The Big House

Our Partnership

For TBH, despite providing so much public good, 2020 — just like every year — was a fight for survival.

Typically funded by a mix of private donations, foundations, government grants, the organization’s corporate programs, and ticket sales from their public theater performances, a world reeling from COVID-19 left TBH struggling to raise awareness and funds while severely impacted by social distancing constraints.

Efforts to provide consistent long-term support for program participants during this time was also challenging for the small team, faced with fire drills from all corners.

With so much to manage at once, TBH worried about how to continue raising public awareness for their work, reach the care community, showcase their creative work, and ultimately continue to support social good.

Enter VidMob. Maggie Norris first connected to VidMob Gives in mid-2020 thanks to a mutual introduction from the team at LinkedIn.

The Results

Curious to explore using video as a new way for the organization to grow brand awareness, draw attention to upcoming theater performances, and to connect to their audience at large, the partnership with VidMob ultimately helped TBH to extend the reach of their small team at a critical time.

The collaboration resulted in the production of two versions of a high energy, high-impact hero video, which the nonprofit used in email marketing, and to grow its presence across social media, starting with LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

“The Big House isn’t big on social media yet, but we want to expand. Video is a way to grow awareness.”

The Creator Network

The VidMob Foundation is fueled by the active engagement of incredible freelance creative professionals on the VidMob platform. They’re some of the world’s most talented creators, and, time and again, have willingly dived in to offer their time and skills for charities around the world. No matter the size of the ask, or the significance of the cause, these creators believe in using creativity as a force for good, just as we do.