April 2004 marked the start of a three-year partnership with The Vodafone UK Foundation (VUKF).

The partnership aims to make a positive impact on youth homelessness and housing problems, and reduce social exclusion, by providing advice and support.

It is part of the VUKF Flagship joint charity programme with Shelter, Samaritans and Youthnet to build flexible, responsive and easily accessible services that give young people the information they need, at the time they need it.

Making it easy to find help online

In addition to professional and other resources, a young people's advice portal and an online advice service were launched in September 2005, along with a brand new email advice service.

Some testimonials from service users

• 'Very quick response with a thorough reply. Was very impressed.'
• 'It's good to know that someone is there who is non-judgemental and who will listen and respond quickly with good advice'
• 'I thought that this was a really good service. I was unable to find anything like it elsewhere on the web - most sites just helped landlords. And sites that helped tenants were either legal sites or very unclear.'

National events

As well as funding our work with young people, the VUKF supports Shelter's Flora London Marathon team. Vodafone employees provide sponsorship, and compete alongside runners pounding the streets as our largest corporate marathon team. Employees are also involved in other events throughout the year, raising vital funds for Shelter.