Event Relief 2022
We’re thrilled to be among the beneficiaries of the events industry’s annual fundraiser: on 29 November, event director and podcaster Dan Assor raised a whopping £5,730 in an 11-hour online programme of sessions as part of Giving Tuesday – a global day of giving.
Mental health-related illness affects one in three event professionals every year. Stress and burnout are just two of the culprits and for those still struggling post Covid, the cost-of-living crisis will add further anxiety.
Event Relief’s content was varied, fun and informative. The funds raised will support industry colleagues who are experiencing mental ill-health and hardship. If you missed the fun you can see highlights here and most importantly, donate here .
Raising PositiviTEA
March 9th 2022 is Event Wellbeing Day in the live events industry and through our PositiviTEA campaign, we’re asking people everywhere to host a gathering: indoors, outdoors or online – that will raise funds to support event professionals’ mental health.
Issues such as stress, depression, anxiety or addiction affect one in three people working in the live events industry. For many, there has been no ‘return to normality’ post Covid: some have struggled to get match-fit; others suffer from burnout from working crazy hours in under-resourced teams. The need for counselling, therapy and support has never been greater.
You can help by:
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Asking friends, colleagues and family to donate to hosted Bake-Off, cocktail hour or games night.
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Buying one of our PositiviTEA mugs from our shop here
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Donating on our JustGiving page
And please, join us in making sure the show really will go on.
EVCOM Award Winners!
We’ve scooped the coveted Grand Prix Award at this year’s EVCOM London Live Awards; also collecting a Gold Award in the ‘Collaboration’ category and a Silver for ‘Best Creative Concept in Event Design and Delivery’.
These awards were given in recognition of the programme of events we created between 2020 and 2021 sharing the creative concept of #MakeitBlue. Our events were designed to reach the NHS and healthcare workers who were working under immense strain to fight Covid, the many live event professionals whose mental health had been shattered through Covid-imposed unemployment and the population at large, who we would inspire through a series of arts, entertainment and cultural projects.
The EVCOM London Live Awards showcase outstanding achievement in the design and execution of live events and experiences by agencies and freelancers internationally. They reward the most progressive and creative examples of the professional discipline today.
Honorable Mention
Bursting with pride that a little music video we created has received an Honourable Mention at the London Seasonal Short Film Festival.
Exactly a year ago, we made a film to help singer-songwriter Joe Bygraves launch his new single,
‘Stand As One’. Shot at The Camden Roundhouse, the audience and crew were members of #MakeItBlue who worked pro bono to produce the video.
Here Comes Summer!
Our lovely friends, Memphis Stone and the Elevators have released their brilliant new single, ‘Summer’, to welcome back the hazy days of music in the park. What’s more – they’re donating all proceeds to MAKEITBLUE so we can help the many live event professionals who continue to struggle with their mental health through Covid-imposed unemployment.
‘Summer’ can be downloaded via all streaming service: just click here.
C’mon everyone: download this amazing single or donate and help us support our friends and colleagues in need.
Our First Donation - To Eventwell
We’re so excited to announce that our first charitable grant – of £4,000 – has been donated to event industry mental health and wellbeing social enterprise, EventWell.
EventWell is providing vital and immediate assistance to event professionals who are struggling right now. Our donation will contribute towards the organisation’s support for people who have had no work for nearly a year and who are in dire financial and emotional distress.
We’re also hugely grateful ourselves to be the recipient of funds raised by #WeMakeEvents - the movement launched to avert the collapse of the entertainment events industry by raising funds and lobbying for government support.
Artists #MakeItBlue – in support of the NHS
Every Thursday night landmarks and iconic buildings across the UK are lighting blue in a massive gesture of thanks and support to all those working at the frontline to fight the pandemic.
We’ve teamed up with London art gallery W1 Curates, inviting artists to express their respect and gratitude in their own unique and beautiful way. Artworks selected will be displayed on Thursday nights across the 36 amazing screens of Flannels Oxford Street store.
Interested? Here’s what to do:
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Paint, draw or digitally produce a piece of artwork that conveys respect and gratitude to the NHS
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Make sure it’s portrait orientation with predominantly blue content
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Email a high-resolution image of your picture to info@W1curates.com.
Please don’t visit the exhibition under lockdown constraints - we’re posting images on social media and gaining a LOT of shares.
Questions? Email any queries to info@makeitblue.uk
#LightItBlue reignites – in support of the NHS and frontline workers
Every Thursday night landmarks and iconic buildings across the UK are lighting blue in a massive gesture of thanks and support to all those working at the frontline to fight the pandemic.
#LightItBlue began at the start of the first lockdown. Now, with the nation once more under siege, we’re turning the skyline blue to shine the light of hope in a dark time. Please join us and spread that positivity in your own way with #MakeItBlue. Thank all those who are working to save lives by creating blue-themed images and videos to share online with #MakeItBlue – and encourage your friends and family to get involved too.
Stand As One for mental health charities
During lockdown we asked brilliant musician Joe Bygraves to write a song that would reflect the troubled times we're living through - and the need for us all to #StandAsOne. And now it’s out – and we love it! You can hear it and order it here .
Joe is donating a whopping 80% of the proceeds to Make It Blue CIC, and we’ll be dispersing these funds to relevant mental health charities.
You can get a behind the scenes look at many of our members producing a supporting video for this amazing track that Joe has written for us. Look out for more news on the full launch of the video! Thanks again Joe
There are many, many people in the live events and entertainment industry who have already lost their jobs or are at risk of losing them. With no income for the foreseeable future, they are experiencing extreme anxiety and distress. Please help us raise funds and offer them much-needed support.
Happy Birthday to the NHS!
The UK skyline turned blue on Saturday 4 July, as landmarks and iconic buildings across the UK were lit blue to celebrate the NHS’ 72nd Anniversary.
Our friends at social media analysts Mapimize monitored Twitter activity over the birthday weekend and produced this beautiful visualisation of Twitter engagement with the #MakeItBlue and #LightItBlue hashtags.
Twitter activity was tracked over the period from 9am Saturday to 9am Sunday and then played back at approximately 4000x real-time. Each blue pulse represents engagement from an individual account at the location on the UK map. Activity peaks at 8pm and then again at 10pm. Thanks to positive public engagement, we were trending at No 6 on Twitter.