The Big Give Christmas Challenge

DanceSyndrome has been selected to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK’s largest match funding campaign.

Donations to the Big Give Christmas Challenge will be matched for 7 days from midday 29th November – midday 6th December. So, every one donation will be match funded to have twice the impact.

The Department of Health confirms that people with learning disabilities face many barriers including ill health; low confidence; poor self-esteem; significant isolation & boredom. The impact of the pandemic has exasperated this even more so. Those living with a learning disability being 5 times more likely to be admitted to hospital & 8 times more likely to die compared with the general population (BMJ Research, July 2021). There are an estimated 50,000 people with learning disabilities in the UK and 80% don’t undertake physical activity, making the life-changing work of organisations like DanceSyndrome more important now than ever.

We hope to raise funds for our project “Fund our Fringe Dream; Inclusive Dance on Tour.”  Our dancers have missed out on high profile performance opportunities because of the pandemic, when our disabled participants were forced to move to online dance sessions and virtual performances due to being vulnerable. After recently returning to our normal pre-pandemic dance sessions, our group of performers want to make a spectacular return to live performances with a trip to perform at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe festival.

The DanceSyndrome dancers have been to Edinburgh before after running a successful fundraising campaign in 2018, so we know the huge personal impact that this type of opportunity can have on people with learning disabilities, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. A performance at such a prestigious event is also a vital way for DanceSyndrome’s dancers to communicate key messages about inclusion, teamwork and achievement, as well as challenging audience perceptions about people with learning disabilities.

This is where DanceSyndrome really triumphed at the 2018 festival. The audience response to the show was incredible, with several audience members describing it as the best show they saw at the Fringe.

The trip to Edinburgh will cost in the region of £10,000 so DanceSyndrome needs to generate £5,000 of public donations during the campaign to be able to make the project a success.

So… we need your help! Can you donate to support our work? Or can you run your own small scale campaign for cash donations which can then be donated online during the campaign?

You could:

• ask colleagues in your workplace to donate the cost of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine
• run a 50:50 draw, raffle or tombola
• do a sponsored activity
• host a bake sale, quiz night, film night or table top sale
• share our story on your social media

If you need any support with your fundraising, please contact our team at info@dancesyndrome.co.uk

To donate, please set a reminder on your calendar to visit our Big Give Christmas Challenge between 12pm on Tuesday 26th November and 12pm on Tuesday 6th December. If you would like to receive an email from us reminding you when donations are open, please sign up for our newsletter. You can also support us by sharing our appeal on social media. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to see regular updates.