'Just Get A Job' - Radical Christmas Fundraiser

Aim

Aim: To raise vital funds to cover basic operating costs, ensuring that Radical Recruit can continue operating throughout 2026 and beyond.

“Just get a job.”

 It’s a phrase thrown at homeless people, domestic violence survivors, disabled people, and anyone who has been out of work even a minute “too long”.

With unemployment now at five percent, securing a job is becoming increasingly difficult, even for people who face no obvious barriers.

Now imagine you are a young person leaving care: No family, no savings, no work experience, high rent, and no idea what roles you might be suited to or where to find them. Who can you turn to?

Radical Recruit supports people from marginalised communities to gain the tools, skills and confidence they need to secure meaningful employment.

Over the past six years, we have placed more than 850 people into sustainable employment and supported thousands more across our Radical community.

People like Chan, the woman whose story inspired our mission.

Trigger Warning: Chan talks about violence, trauma and other systemic harm. 

It can take weeks, sometimes months, to rebuild the confidence, skills and practical foundations required to begin applying for work.

In a fair world, employers would recognise the lived experience, resilience, loyalty and ambition our Radicals bring. Instead, many see gaps in employment, limited experience, or simply someone who does not look or sound like the people they usually recruit.

Because of who they are, our Radicals are often viewed through a lens of mistrust or dismissed as unsuitable.

Radicals Arber, Sid and Sars, explain why it is difficult for them to “just get a job”.

2025 has been the hardest year since Radical Recruit began in 2019. Not because our Radicals have changed, but because everything around them has.

NHS services are overflowing, councils are collapsing, support systems have been stripped back to the bone. We are living through genocide, global conflicts, political turmoil and the threat of further austerity.

The world is becoming harsher and more unstable for our Radicals, people who already carry the heaviest burdens.

“Just get a job” is a lie told by those who are protected by the system and who profit from things staying exactly as they are.

“Just get a job” ignores the barriers our Radicals face and excuses the structures that make work inaccessible for so many.

This year, Radical Recruit is facing the same reality as many small charities. Without new income, we may not exist in twelve months.

We are asking our brilliant community to help us hold the line, so that Radicals have the support they need during the Christmas period and into 2026.

We aim to raise £40,000 across three core themes.

These funds will allow us to stabilise people in crisis, remove the barriers that keep them locked out of work, and support them to move into meaningful employment with dignity and confidence.

Your donation is not charity. It is radical solidarity.

Thank you for standing with us.

Emma and Kirsty
Co-Chief Radical

The Barriers Are Real. So Is the Difference You Can Make.

We use vignettes because systems hide behind statistics. Stories make those systems visible.

A vignette reveals what people are truly facing; not as a distant policy issue, but as an experience lived day to day.

It challenges the myths that blame individuals and forces people to confront the structures that create inequality in the first place.

 Even £1 makes a difference, please donate if you can.

1. CRISIS SUPPORT

£40 — Immediate Stabilisation
 Funds an hour of crisis support when a Radical receives a letter they cannot respond to, their benefits stop without warning, the electricity runs out, or they are at risk of sanction. This hour prevents avoidable spirals into eviction, hunger or total income loss.

£120 — Full Crisis Resolution
Pays for the specialist casework needed to fix a problem properly. We challenge sanctions, escalate safeguarding concerns, secure emergency accommodation and stop wrongful debt recovery.

£300 — Crisis to Stability Plan
 Funds a tailored package of intervention including advocacy, professional referrals, safety planning and follow-up.

2. EMPLOYABILITY SUPPORT

£50 — Job Readiness Boost
 Covers a CV rewrite, a job search plan, or interview practice so a Radical can begin applying for roles immediately with confidence.

£150 — Breaking the Bias Barrier
 Funds tailored support for Radicals who face the steepest odds. This includes safe conviction disclosure, confidence coaching for older workers, and support for disabled job seekers.

£350 — Employment Pathway
Supporting key interventions like CV development, job matching, interview coaching, employer advocacy, or up to three months of in-work support.

3. FINANCIAL AID

£30 — Practical Essentials
 Covers the basics a Radical needs to stay connected and functioning. It pays for phone data, a week of food or two days of travel.

£100 — Removing Barriers to Work
 Funds essential one-off costs such as electricity top-ups, identification documents, work clothing, shoes or childcare during interviews.

£250 — Opening the Door to Employment
Pays for the larger items that make work possible, such as a month of travel until the first payday, a CSCS card with site entry essentials or a month of food for a family.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CAMPAIGN SPONSORS

To Kris and his team at Kitto who filmed this years video and made the experience safe and fun for our Radicals.

 And Stephanie, Founder of Spark Marketing for helping to edit the Crowdfunder page copy very last minute because Em's brain was failing her!

And finally, to our friends at Framework Digital and it's founder Tomas who helped get our brilliant campaign video onto our website and even built us a landing page special for it - BIG THANKS!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made