Gig Buddies announce official charity partnership with Brighton Fringe.

We are VERY exciting news to share with you…

This year, we’re delighted to be partnering with Brighton Fringe festival as one of its official charity partners! Their audience is a large one, and as a result of the exposure we hope to recruit lots of lovely new volunteers to help our awesome members access some great events throughout the duration of the festival and beyond.

The most exciting bit however, is that the Fringe team has kindly extended the offer of free Friends Of Brighton Fringe memberships to the whole Gig Buddies for Mental Health community, whether you’re a volunteer or participant, and regardless of that fact you are currently matched!

Worth £200 each, benefits include:

• priority booking
• 2–4–1 tickets for over 40 events
• 20 different discounts at some of Brighton & Hove’s best food and drink spots

Most importantly, you’ll be helping to directly support the arts in this wonderful city of ours.

See whats on here: https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/

How does it work?

Training and support is provided, and all volunteers are police checked to ensure we are all thinking about the safety of the people we support. All volunteers must be able to attend a training session, complete a DBS check, and commit to a minimum of 12 hours volunteering.

Interview with Volunteer — “I applied to be a volunteer because I love how music inexplicably and powerfully brings people together, regardless of their differences. It’s such a powerful force for connection and happiness. The beauty of Gig Buddies for Good Mental Health is they put this simplicity at the centre of their organisation and the friendships between volunteers and their buddies flow so naturally from that common interest. I love meeting new people and want to give something back to someone who wants some support to improve their confidence through having fun.”

It is important to Gig Buddies that we always match our participants and volunteers based on their common interests.

Gig buddies are paired and then are asked to meet. Working with the Gig Buddies team members, you will make a plan on what you will do together. We ask that our volunteers and participants meet at least once a month to go to an event, whether that’s a gig, concert, club night, art gallery, or other cultural events.

Interview with participant — “We have been out at least once a month. We went to see a band, we had Gig Buddies social and we had a karaoke evening and we went to the cinema. And bowling. They were all things I wanted to do and I would have found it hard to do on my own. I have felt a lot less anxious, it’s been very positive. Just really glad I got to get involved.”

How to get involved

If you’d like to get involved by becoming a Gig Buddies volunteer for Brighton Fringe 2022 and beyond, get in touch via email at info@gigbuddiesmentalhealth.org.uk.

By getting in touch, you will be approving that you’re happy for us to share your name and contact details with the team at Fringe. They’ll then be in touch directly to issue you with your membership, and then you can get booking!

If you currently aren’t part of an active match and there are any Fringe events that you’d like to attend, do let us know and we’ll work to try and find you a short-term buddy who’d like to help you go along. While we’d like to find everyone a long term match, we’re hopeful that some new friendships might emerge from this opportunity, and would really encourage you all to make the most of the chance to access some great events that you otherwise might not ordinarily get the chance to go to.