ONE donation, TWICE the impact.

This Christmas please help support Changes Bristol in running peer support meetings online and across Bristol. Between midday on 30th November and midday on 7th December you can DOUBLE your donations to Changes Bristol, making £20 worth £40. 

We’re hoping to raise £6,000 all together, which will cover the cost of running two peer support groups for an entire year. Our groups are free, open access meetings giving people suffering from mental distress a place to talk and take steps toward improving their lives and mental wellbeing. Ran by people with lived experience, the groups are safe and non-judgmental.

What is the Big Give Christmas Challenge? 

The Big Give runs the UK’s biggest match funding campaign, The Christmas Challenge. For seven days, it offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to have their donation doubled. Since it launched in 2008, the Christmas Challenge has raised millions of pounds for thousands of charity projects.

How does the Christmas Challenge Work?

The Christmas Challenge is a match funding campaign where donations to participating charities are doubled over the space of a week. The match funds come from two sources – charities secure some of these (Pledges) over the summer, these funds are then boosted by funds from a Big Give Champion who contributes to the match fund. This collective pot is used to double donations from online supporters when the campaign is live

Situation

1 in 4 people will suffer from some form of mental distress at some point in their lives. Many more will be indirectly affected as their friends and loved ones suffer. Bristol has a higher proportion of people with mental ill health than the national average, with higher rates of suicide and self harm, and this is increased in more disadvantaged areas. Poor mental health can lead to poor physical health, lowers life expectancy, affects relationships and can debilitate daily life.

Solution

Changes Bristol provides a support network which anyone can access, with as few barriers as possible. People can self-refer and can access support for as long as they like. The peer support and new befriending scheme enables people to learn from others with lived experience, alleviate mental distress, reduce social isolation, increase self-esteem and empower themselves to make the most of their lives. We provide an empathetic, confidential space to improve mental health.

This year we have raised £1,500 in pledges from Tastetech, Bunzl Healthcare and Elite Financial Consulting, plus The Medlock Charitable Trust has also pledged £1,500 as the campaign champion. This means that up to £3,000 can be matched, raising £6,000 for Changes Bristol – this would pay for two Peer Support Groups for an entire year. 

 

All donations must be made via the Big Give platform, which will be live from midday 30th November – midday 7th December.

Thank you for your support – team Changes Bristol