“I had no idea I had been nominated until I got an email telling me that I was up for the award. I was completely in the dark but I must have got quite a few votes to win.
“People know me as a street vendor here and I suppose I am quite a bit of a local celebrity – I use some of the money I get from selling the magazine to help other people and I suppose that is quite unique.
“It was quite hard going when I first moved to Exeter a year ago but I think I’ve shown that with dedication and hard work you can make a real success.”
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The award marks a landmark year for Andrew, who uses a portion of the money he earns as a vendor to help local homeless shelter, St Petrock’s – donating £100-worth of socks and underwear in June. And he was part of a group of Big Issue vendors invited to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster by Big Issue founder Lord John Bird in July.
He also joined Bishop Martin Shaw in a talk about homelessness at Exeter Cathedral in September and is now launching a voucher scheme to help those living on the city’s streets as well as supporting St David’s Church soup kitchen in the city.
This year has been no one-off either – Andrew used trolleys borrowed from the Co-op to collect lots of tents, sleeping bags and warm clothes, before donating the gear to a church in Towcester in 2015.
After the thrill of the awards ceremony Andrew is now back on his pitch, so drop by and congratulate him – and pick up a copy of the magazine of course!
Our 2020 Impact Report
The Big Issue has given more than £1 million support to Big Issue vendors struggling due to the lockdown restrictions. To mark the significant milestone, we have published an impact report, documenting the seismic shift the organisation has undergone in the past 12 months.
View Report 
