The Big Issue North: Sheffield street vendors feature in charity calendar

Melanie Cole and her partner Andrew have sold the Big Issue in Sheffield since July and feature in this year’s charity calendar.

Melanie said: “We met up with a photographer and had our pictures taken in the city centre. We went to Leah’s Yard, which I had no idea existed before we went.”

They live with their two dogs, Mabel and Dottie, who also featured in the calendar.

Andrew, who sells the magazine at St James Retail Park, Norton, said: “It’s nice to know people will buy the calendar because it brings more awareness to the Big Issue and vendors like us who sell the magazine.

“We have lovely customers. I get some people who stay and have a chat with me for ten or fifteen minutes. They also love the dogs, who come out to our pitches with us every day and are so well behaved.”

Melanie, who sells the Big Issue outside Aldi on Archer Road, Millhouses, added: “I think we make more money because of them! They love all the attention from our customers.”

She added: “Truthfully, before I did this, I was in a lot of debt. Selling the Big Issue has helped me pay it off, which I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.”

Big Issue North supports around 350 vendors who sell The Big Issue in the northwest, Yorkshire and the Humber.

The 2025 calendar focuses on the rise of northern cities as cultural hotspots as well as showing how the streets look to the people who work on them.

Big Issue vendors from Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool also featured in the calendar.

Bronte Schiltz, Big Issue’s northern correspondent, said: “We were inspired by Invisible Cities which is an organisation that gives tours of cities guided by people with experience of homelessness and other forms of marginalisation.

“The idea of the calendar is for the vendors to give a tour of their city as they experience it, looking at places where they may have slept rough, places where they live and areas which may not be familiar to other people who live in the city.”

The Big Issue North calendar is £10 and can be purchased from Big Issue North vendors and online.

Bronte said: “The recommended retail price of the calendar is £10 but we like to give vendors the option to set their own price. Some vendors offer incentives to buy the calendar from them rather than online such as offering a deal to people who buy both the magazine and the calendar.”

Many vendors face barriers to mainstream employment including homelessness, a lack of formal qualifications or work experience, health challenges and care responsibilities.

A report from October found that one in every 200 people in the UK are currently experiencing homelessness. Yorkshire and the Humber are among the lowest income areas in the UK.

Since Covid fewer people are carrying cash and many vendors currently experiencing homelessness are unable to take card payments. Many vendors struggle to make ends meet in cities where the cost of living is surging.

Bronte said: “All the money raised from online sales of the calendar will go back to Big Issue North vendors. For example the money could go towards the cost of setting somebody up as a new vendor by giving them an ID badge, some starter magazines and a red bib.

“Other ways we support our vendors through our fundraising includes giving them contactless card readers, providing home furnishing packages and language courses.”

To find out more about Big Issue North visit https://www.bigissuenorth.com/