Change.org works wonders

Perhaps we all groan a bit over those sites that ask you to sign petitions, and wonder if they really do any good – but Change.org really does seem to work. It has just sent out an e-mail detailing some of this year’s successes, all of them by private individuals.

Climate activists forced EDF Energy to drop its lawsuit against them following a petition started by one of the campaigners’ parents that got 64,454 signatures.

The Bank of England agreed to put Jane Austen on its new £10 note after receiving a petition from Caroline Criado-Perez with 36,161 signatures.

15 year old Esha Marwaha was so indignant about a proposal to drop climate change from the curriculum that she started a petition. To her amazement, It got 31,225 signatures and did the trick.

When a 13 year old survivor of sex abuse was called ‘predatory’ by the judge hearing her case, she launched a petition calling on the Crown Prosecution Service to take action. She got 55,783 signatures, and in less than 48 hours the judge and barrister were both censured by the authorities.

On a smaller scale, Bolton Wanderers pulled out of a sponsorship deal with a payday ‘loan-shark’ lending firm called QuickQuid after receiving a petition with just 4,469 signatures. Not a lot, but enough. There are dozens more. In 2013, over 3.5 million people in the UK alone used Change.org to join and win campaigns.

Bear it in mind. As we head into 2014, there may well be things you want to see changed. Change.org is a useful tool.