Now take that level of difficulty and consider how much more tough it gets for members of LGBTQ+ communities.
We face isolation. We experience high levels of alcohol and drug dependency. We live with threats of violence. We are marginalised by mainstream media and politicians. We are often rejected by families.
A fabulous collective of humans in London wants to help redress some of these hardships and oppressive forces by opening the London LFBTQ+ Community Centre.
Check out this video:
Queer spaces in London are traditionally based around drinking and spending money (and even these spots are being removed), so it is crucial that LGBTQ+ people have a safe space that doesn’t cost them the Earth to access.
The centre is to be set up in east London and a fundraising campaign is underway to ensure the launch is successful and leads to a long life for the centre.
The centre will be a drop in space, a social space, and a activism space.
If you know anything about London you will not need me to tell you that it is a ridiculously expensive city. This is why the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre needs your support.
Cold, hard cash is going to get this crucial community space secured for our people.
Please click here to visit the campaign page and donate what you can.
Share this campaign widely. Lives are on the line and you can make a difference.
£1 or £2 is not a lot of money. You can spare a few quid right this very moment, most likely.
We have the collective power to help bring independent, community-focussed vegan businesses to life if we work together.
OK.
I would like to ask a favour of each and every person who reads this post. Please click here right now to donate whatever you can to the Bonobo Kickstarter campaign. The team behind Bonobo are opening the ONLY vegan cafe in Aberdeen, Scotland. It’s a big deal.
Bonobo has been running as a series of pop up events for one year, but now the founding group has decided to transform their business into a cooperatively owned and operated vegan cafe that will also function as a community hub for gigs, meetings and events.
To help with first month rental, kitchen equipment and other associated costs, Bonobo needs to raise £12,000.
They have already raised just over £3,500.
It is crucial that we put our money where our mouths are and support endeavours like Bonobo. This cafe is allowing six people to be employed in vegan work within their community, on their own terms and with so much scope to benefit local people.
Throw some money in the pot. Can you spare £1. Most people I know can afford £1. If you have more money at your disposal, put £5 or £10 forward to help strengthen opportunities for vegans in Aberdeen.
C’mon. Let’s get them financed and fighting fit. Donate now and spread this link.
I know I put on some rollicking events, but even by my standards this week’s comedy fundraiser in the south London neighbourhood of Balham was a real good time.
Thanks to the generosity of the performers and food sponsors Fry’s Family Foods, my event raised just over £1000 for Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary.Yes, £1000! (£1005.45 to be exact)
Guests laughed heartily at the joke telling of our host Carl Donnelly and the impressive line up of talent he assembled for the night. Eddy Brimson was a real crowd favourite, as was Jake Yapp with his explanation of the stages of being vegan. Lou Sanders was outrageous in the best possible way, while I can’t thank Wendy Wason and Chris Martin enough for stepping in at the last minute when two of our original line up dropped out.
These comedians donated their time and talent to ensure this night was a massive fundraising success, so please take a moment to click on each of their names and thank them for supporting animals.
Can we talk about the food for a second?
Fry’s really made things special by serving hundreds of their brand new Rice Protein & Chia Nuggets, as well as trays and trays overflowing with their famous Sausage Rolls. Every single guest was also offered one of the new Falafel Burgers, served in a soft bun with aioli and fresh rocket.
Check out my superstar sister-in-law Sophia dealing with food hosting duties on the night.
Those burgers were delicious!
Tammy Fry Kelly of Fry’s Family Foods was on hand to welcome guests and let them know a little more about the company and the new range. You can click here to see some of the products we served on the night.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this night a huge success.
If you would like to help the rescued animals of Hugletts, please visit this fundraising page and give what you can.
A few days ago I put a call out to concerned vegans. A vegan food business took a knock (really) and I wanted to rally the troops and make a sizeable donation to help them back on their feet.
Guess what?
We reached the target set of £500 in just a few days. I have already transferred the funds over to Veg Instead, so hopefully the hungry vegans of Croydon will have their favourite street food back again soon.
The huge Bowl for Oceans fundraiser party that took place in Central London last weekend was the result of a lot of planning, a lot of support and some very special people/businesses coming together in the name of helping sea life.
On top of the good times involving bowling, karaoke and music, we ended up selling enough tickets to make a wonderful £800 donation to Sea Shepherd UK. In addition, we collected a lot of cash and coins on the day in the Sea Shepherd bucket and the charity sold a walloping amount of their own merchandise.
Before I share some photos from the day, I would like to take a moment to thank the following people who made the event the huge success it was. It would be very thoughtful if you could take a minute out of your day to thank them on Twitter for their support.
Bowl For Oceans is turning into what will surely be an amazing event. We have vegan snacks to feed attendees. We have three very different DJs to supply us with an eclectic mix of tunes. We have karaoke. We have ten pin bowling. We even have pool tables.
But one thing we won’t have with us on the day is all of you.
Distance gets in the way of a lot of celebrations and Bowl For Oceans is no exception. That noted, a lot of you have reached out to say even though you can’t be physically with us on the day, you would still like to make a contribution to the fundraising efforts.
In order for friends to make a financial contribution even if they are not in London on the day, we have created a special non-attendee donation ticket. For just half the price of a full ticket, you can help us in our campaign to raise money and awareness for the UK arm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Your ongoing support and dedication to helping animals is what makes events like Bowl For Oceans possible. Please spread the word across all of your networks and help us make the biggest donation to Sea Shepherd that we possibly can.
When was the last time you did something interesting, cultured and worthwhile on a Tuesday night? Watching EastEnders doesn’t count as a legitimate answer.
If you are sitting there at a complete loss without an inkling of an idea when the last time something enthralling actually took place on Tuesday, I have some news you will most definitely be interested in.
On Tuesday October 2, 2012 (World Animal Day) at 7:30pm, a huge musical fundraising night is taking place in South London… and you could be a part of it for just £10. Take that, Albert Square!
Dr Had’s Jazz is an evening of live music and fundraising for the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research. This charity does invaluable work in the field of promoting humane research over animal research.
Vocalist Alex Carter will perform alongside the extraordinary jazz talents of Christian Vaughan on keys and Dave Chamberlain on bass. The night will be packed full of raffle prizes furnished by a long list of sponsors and vegan food and drink will be available to purchase from the venue.
For full details of sponsors, location and ticket availability, click here now.
Do it for the animals, do it for the music and do it for your very own Tuesday night memories.
There is one thing I have discovered during my chubby, queer life. If we do not shop at (and support) independent vegan businesses, they will disappear.
Business life is tough enough for small businesses and even harder for the vegan variety. You have got to be extra resilient when you are cruelty-free. You sell to a niche market (admittedly getting larger) and you often have all sorts of accusations and prejudices fired your way, some sadly even from within the vegan community.
One of the true champions of the do-it-yourself vegan scene is the decadently-delicious Ms. Cupcake of Brixton. This one-of-a-kind compassionate bakery pumps out glorious sugary treats and has gotten to the point where it is today through the sheer grit, determination and ferocious hard work of founder/owner/Chief Cupcaker Mellissa Morgan.
Ms Cupcake during the grand opening of the Brixton bakery
In just a few years, Mellissa has moved from humble beginnings selling her homemade wares at London markets to owning her own bakery that employs multiple staff members. Mellissa is a huge contributor to local animal charities and her surrounding communtiy. She has time and time again proven herself as an award-winning business person and highly-decorated baker.
But like every hardworking, independent business owner, Mellissa sometimes needs the help of her supporters and the broader community to get over hurdles as they present themselves. Namely financial hurdles.
The next stage in development for the Ms. Cupcake bakery is to offer frozen goods such as pre-packaged vegan ice cream, cheesecakes and their own frozen creations. The problem with frozen food however is that is requires a freezer to be stored in…. and there isn’t a freezer in Ms. Cupcake.
This is where you come in.
Ms. Cupcake is taking the fan-funded route to raise enough money to make the much-needed purchase. Mellissa is asking for donations from supporters in order to get her freezer and is even offering incentives to people willing to help out.
For a £5 donation you get a kiss from Ms. Cupcake herself. £10 will get you a cupcake and a kiss. Or you could splash out and show your commitment to helping small business with a £50 donation and be rewarded with a kiss, a cupcake, a tub of vegan ice cream AND a £10 voucher to spend at the shop!
Get behind this fundraising drive if you want to support a local business and help keep them away from nasty bank loans. Get behind it if you want to help a vegan business grow. Get behind it if you want to help Mellissa to be able to keep employing a large number of staff. In the long run, your donation will ultimately help Mellissa carry on with all of her charitable and community interactions that she is loved for.
And finally…. get behind this campaign if the thought of cupcakes topped with ice cream makes you do a happy dance.
