A wholehearted celebration💜 Raising money for Grassroots Suicide Prevention…
Nine months ago, on Sunday 19th November 2023, we came together in the Brunswick Cellar bar for a night of live music, to raise money and awareness for Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
We raised ÂŁ548.49 for the charity, through ticket sales, JustGiving donations and a collection on the night.
I remember a special evening with brilliant performances from Olivia, Zak, Suzanne, Leanne, Boots, Aida, Rod, Terry, Tree, Phil, Theseus and Ginny.
Each artist performed an original song which focussed on the topic of mental health, and then followed it with another one or two songs of their choice, which included a mix of covers and originals.
I have to admit I was really nervous about this event. The cause is important to me as I have struggled with my own mental health since I was a teenager.
I am passionate about helping people who feel alone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts. But I have never organised an event like this before. I became a bit preoccupied that it would be too emotional on the night. Imagine if everyone went away sad and depressed!
I didn’t need to worry. There was an abundance of talent, respect and effort and it was emotional in a positive way. There were tears, laughter, fun and dancing from a wonderful community of good people.
The definition of wholehearted is: characterised by complete sincerity and commitment.
Brené Brown, through her research, illustrated that some people allow a fear of vulnerability to limit their potential, but, wholehearted people have the courage to bring their full selves to the table.
As someone who quite often worries about what people think which stops me from doing things (it’s only taken me 9 months to write this), I am learning a lot by surrounding myself with wholehearted people. It is the work of an artist to use their courage to make a unique contribution to the world, and I am really inspired by people who do this.
The songs performed on the night prompted conversations about mental health, suicide and helping others in need. These are important conversations, and I believe that talking, sharing and coming together as a community is an important step towards reducing suicide in our society.
A MASSIVE THANK YOU
Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to make this event happen, especially Olivia, Zak, Suzanne, Leanne, Boots, Aida, Rod, Terry, Tree, Phil, Theseus and Ginny.
I was really grateful to have the lovely Katie McAndrews, Events and Engagement Officer from Grassroots Suicide Prevention give up her time to come down and tell us about the charity and collect donations.
Grassroots Suicide Prevention empower people to help save lives from suicide through educating, connecting and campaigning nationally. They offer bespoke training courses for organisations and communities to help people save lives. They have developed a Stay Alive app and range of resources to help individuals.
Head to https://prevent-suicide.org.uk/ for more information.
Thank you to Henri for the special poster, Verity for listening and for the encouragement; Biene and Hucki for coming all the way from Germany to help on the door, as I was (as predicted) pretty useless on the night.
A massive thank you to top notch TV and film producer Peter for taking pictures and filming the entire event for us.
Special thanks to Phil for patiently planning with me in his kitchen, stopping me from catastrophising, and for being the best ever host on the night, despite coming down with flu!
A big thank you to Theseus who gave support for the event, and topped the bill, representing all of the components of wholehearted living… authenticity, joy, creativity and laughter.
Along with Ginny on harmonica, this talented duo delivered an epic grand finale that had everyone up dancing.
Lastly, a wholehearted thank you to everyone who donated or bought a ticket, travelled down on a cold dark Sunday night, came together, sang and cheered and danced the night away, and most importantly had a conversation about this important topic.
I can’t take any credit for this, but just to note, a few weeks later, Toby (responsible for the great playlist on the night) asked for donations for his 60th birthday, and himself raised a whopping additional £273 for Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
It was a joint community effort, and I hope it doesn’t stop here!
The original songs performed on the night have important messages. Check out some of the video’s from the night, I will share on this page.
Also, plans are underway for the next Wholehearted gig later this year!
Watch this space… 💜