On Tuesday we were pleased and thrilled to launch our Kickstarter to raise funds to support the wellbeing and mental health of festival-goers, volunteers and artists at three festivals this summer.
For Tramlines we’re going to release a wellbeing survival kit for festival go-ers which can be downloaded.
For Edinburgh Festival we’re going to be supporting artists and volunteers with 1-2-1 Mental Health First Aid support and using the creative arts to raise mental health conversations across the city.
For Greenbelt we’l be supporting mental health and wellbeing across the site including a specific venue, programmed events and 1-2-1 support where where needed.
So far, the Kickstarter has made an impact, raising 20% of the £3800 … thanks so much for giving us such a great start !!
Now we want to build on that and we’d love your help.
Festivals are brilliant and celebratory events which lift people’s wellbeing. The whole idea of a weekend of art, dancing, creativity and fun is something which lifts people’s spirits, enables them to be more fully themselves and grows their wellbeing - we are thrilled to be part of these three great events.
Festival attendance in the UK has grown by 50% between 2010 and 2015 (MINTEL) and it’s anticipated 3.5 million people attended festivals in 2015. When you consider that 1 in 4 of us will face a mental health challenge each year (MIND) it makes sense that festivals are a time when there’s also a need to support each other as well as celebrate with each other.
This works itself in a number of ways but a number of statistics and concepts have come to our attention over the course of the year.
70% of musicians and artists have had an experience of anxiety disorder or depression (Billboard)
Edinburgh Festival’s middle Wednesday is synonymously known as “Black Wednesday” due to issues of wellbeing, drop-out and personal struggle amongst artists and volunteers in the city. We will be in Edinburgh during that time.
St Johns Ambulance workers we spoke to at during a large summer festival last year said instances of mental health cases on site had trebled in one year.
1 in 5 people who attend UK festivals have experienced sexual assault or harrassment (YouGov)
We’d like to provide help for artists, volunteers and festival go-ers at the three festivals we’ve mentioned but also in time would like to create resources and support which is replicable across the UK’s many and varied festivals.
If you’d like to help us in our Kickstarter you can:
Pledge £10 and receive a pre-sale copy of our book “Festival” which shines a light on all the wonder and beauty of celebration and how it helps us.
Pledge £70 and you receive 10 copies.
Pledge £250 and you’ll get the books plus Space to Breathe training of your choice in your locality.
Lastly pledge £500 and we’ll come and deliver a Wellbeing Day for you and nine others at a location of your choice.
We are committed to making this summer a safe, happy and growing experience for people across the UK and we’d love it if you could help make this happen with us.