Silence for Seven: Community Fundraiser

Fundraise



OVERVIEW

Join us for our first ever Community Fundraiser - a sponsored silence - to enable seven young adults in hardship to access our life-changing courses and training. Are you up for the challenge? 


WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER? 

A community fundraiser is an opportunity to pull together to raise vital funds for our charity - and have some fun along the way. To take part, you'll commit to your own Silence for Seven challenge and set up a unique fundraising page that can be shared with your friends, family and other people you know to meet your personal fundraising target. Read full details below. 

WHAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING

Recent research has highlighted that both physical and mental health is declining in young adults. Compared to 10 years ago, a 16-34 year old is twice as likely to report a work-limiting health condition, and nearly four times as likely to report poor mental health.

Your participation in Silence for Seven will enable us to provide seven bursary places on our life-changing mindfulness courses & training to adults under 35 years old. You’ll be ensuring that, in 2024, people who wouldn’t be able to fund a place by themselves will come away with tools for life that can help them: 

  • Better understand their minds, bodies and habits

  • Learn how to more effectively manage their symptoms 

  • Find a kinder way to be with difficult experiences 

  • Feel less alone in their struggles 

  • Find new hope for their future and “new” self. 

  • Bring these skills to others in need

Learn more about our charity mission and bursary funding here.


WHY SILENCE?

In a world of constant noise and distraction, silence can help us reconnect with both our inner experience, and the world around us. Verbal silence is an ancient spiritual practice used to deepen understanding of self and experience in meditation. It helps us slow down and notice what would usually pass us by - we may observe elements of life in a new, more vibrant light.

Learn more about the benefits of practising silence in the following blogs, written by Breathworks Founder, Vidyamala Burch: 

Read more about supporting yourself through a silent practice in our FAQ page here.

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

We invite you to take part in a sponsored 7-day practice of silence from Monday 24th - Sunday 30th June. This is our first ever Community Fundraiser, which not only aims to raise vital funds for bursary places, but also gives us an opportunity to come together in a shared practice (and have a bit of fun along the way).

We would love to see 100 people sign-up, so please consider reading on and getting involved!


WHAT COUNTS AS SILENCE?

For this challenge, we define silence as a period of: 

  • No speaking 

As well as:

  • No written communication (e.g. texts, emails, handwritten notes).

  • Detaching from technology (e.g. scrolling social media).

  • Not initiating background noise (e.g. listening to music or watching the television) unless it supports your meditation/mindfulness practice

You may of course break a silence to communicate urgent needs, or to ensure the safety of those or others around you. 

To feel the full benefit of this challenge, we recommend you engage with mindful activities during your periods of silence. This could be meditation, going for a walk or swim, eating, or doing anything in your daily routine with more awareness.


HOW LONG SHOULD I STAY IN SILENCE FOR? 

Whilst the challenge is to practise silence on each of the seven days, how long you choose to be silent across the week, in total, is up to you. For example, you might commit to an hour of silence on each day, or decide to gradually build your time in silence as you progress through the week.


WHAT’S RIGHT FOR ME? 

Everyone’s Silence for Seven challenge will look different. When choosing your challenge, consider for you personally: 

  • What would be sufficiently challenging to attract sponsorship from your friends, family and community.

  • What is realistic, safe and do-able

Entering prolonged periods of silence is generally not advised for people experiencing severe depression or poor mental health. Above all, please listen to your needs and make the kind choice for yourself. Visit our FAQ page here for more information. 

HOW TO TAKE PART

  1. Decide on what your challenge will be (how many hours of silence will you commit to over 7 days?) 

  2. Set your fundraising target amount. How much do you hope to raise from sponsorship? There is no penalty if you go below (or above!) this amount, but it helps motivate you and your community to work towards a shared goal. 

  3. Register your challenge by setting up your online fundraising page here before Sunday 23rd June (see also the FUNDRAISE button at the top of this page).

    Here you'll be able to add details about yourself and your challenge. Once submitted, you will be automatically emailed a unique weblink that can be shared with friends and family. This provides a secure link for donations, deposited directly to our charity.

    Once signed-up, you will be emailed joining details for all Silence for Seven events, and occasional relevant updates related to this particular fundraiser. 

    Note: If you would like to take part but are unable to set up your fundraising webpage, please email our Community Manager, Shannon Phillips at [email protected]

  4. Share your challenge on the Community of Practice for accountability and to inspire others. Tip: Include the hashtag #SilenceForSeven in your post to help connect you with others taking part. 

  5. Tell everyone you know! Share your weblink to your personal fundraising page with friends, family, colleagues and on social media. 

  6. Complete your 7-day challenge from Monday 24th - Sunday 30th June. Share updates on the Community of Practice, with #SilenceForSeven in your post, if you wish. 

  7. Collect your final sponsors using your online fundraising page by midnight 24th July 2024. 

If participating in the challenge isn't right for you, we welcome you to consider supporting the collective effort by offering a donation here to our Silence for Seven appeal (you can also click the DONATE button at the top of this page).


KEY DATES (all times for BST/UK)

Once you have created your fundraising page, you will automatically be emailed joining information/recordings for the online events below, as well as relevant updates to the challenge. If you would like this information but have not yet created your fundraising page, you can manually opt in to the Silence for Seven e-mailing list here.

  • Q&A Session: Wednesday 12th June, 7-8pm. Ask anything you like about Silence for Seven to help decide if this challenge is right for you. 

  • Launch Party: Sunday 23rd June, 7-8pm. Join Breathworks Founder Vidyamala Burch for an online kick-off event. Joining details will be emailed to all those with a registered challenge. 

  • Challenge Period: Monday 24th - Sunday 30th June.

  • Celebration Party: Sunday 30th June, 7-8pm. What’s a fundraising challenge without an after party? Join Vidyamala Burch for a chance to connect, chat and share how we got on with our personal challenge. Joining details will be emailed to all those with a registered challenge.

  • Final Donation Count: Wednesday 24th July, 9am. Collect final sponsorships - let's see what we can raise together!

Note: Attendance of these events, though encouraged, is NOT necessary to complete the challenge.  Whilst we would love to have you join us in real time, all live events will be recorded to enable everyone to participate.

HAVE A QUESTION? 

Read more about the challenge in our FAQs here. We also welcome you to join our live Q&A session on Wednesday 12th June, 7-8pm BST. 

ALL RESOURCES

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