Frontier Youth Trust is hoping Christians will follow in the footsteps of the widow who gave two copper coins and help it raise £100,000 for its work with youth beyond the reaches of church.

The Widow's Mite campaign invites Christians to give a little in order to raise a lot by texting MITE to 82540.

The campaign is inspired by the scene in Luke 21 where a poor widow who puts two small copper coins into the temple treasury is commended by Jesus for giving the most because she gave out of her poverty.

The funds raised will be used to start 36 new Streetspace projects over the next three years. The scheme has been piloted successfully in the south west of England for the last three years in partnership with Church Mission Society. It seeks to engage creatively and establish church with marginalised young people and has been welcomed by local councils and police.

Richard Passmore, StreetSpace project leader, said: "We have an amazing opportunity to help and support young people, especially those who may be at risk, by meeting them where they are at.

"We are at a critical point in this development and we want to mobilise Christian youth work as an expression of God’s love for young people on the streets.”

Dave Wiles, head of FYT, said: "We recognise that money is tight for most people at the moment so we are simply asking for lots of people - actually 100,000 of them! - to contribute a small amount to make a huge difference."

Texts cost £1.50, with more than £1 from each text going towards the Streetspace initiative.