By Meeting Needs
Ask anyone who works in events why they do what they do and you’ll hear about creativity, problem-solving and the thrill of seeing a live event come together.
What you probably won’t hear is, “because it changes lives.” Yet, every year, that’s exactly what our industry does.
Meeting Needs is the events industry’s own charity foundation, almost entirely volunteer-run, turning industry generosity into grants for small charities that rarely make headlines.
Funds are generated from Foundation Partners, fundraising events, raffles, auctions and challenges such as the Royal Parks Half Marathon, and go to organisations run by one or two committed people, where a grant is genuinely transformative rather than just welcome. Causes supported do not need to be industry-focused, but the grant applications are made by and vouched for event profs. Three current beneficiaries share what that looks like.
In Aldershot, Meeting Needs is funding six months of fresh, nutritious food for struggling families, partnering with Community Grub Hub for the second time on a £5,000 budget. Every week the charity distributes 1.5 to 1.7 tonnes of food, much of it rescued from landfill via FareShare, to around 240 local families.
Brian Kirsch, outgoing treasurer, Meeting Needs said: “There can be little more important for us to do than to deliver good food to children who cannot rely on the regular supply of nutrition.”
In Tanzania, a grant of £5,194 keeps a mountain ambulance running for six months in Yamba, a remote village reachable only by a three-hour drive on rough terrain, or a two-day walk. Run by UK charity Village Africa, the ambulance serves 7,000 people free of charge and made 52 emergency transfers last year alongside maternity and other needs. Meeting Needs helped buy the vehicle in 2011 and has supported it since.
Closer to home, a £5,000 grant is funding free counselling for 10 couples recovering from the loss of a baby, delivered by charity Petals through fortnightly online sessions. Lene Corgan, vice-chair, Meeting Needs said: “We were approached to support Petals by an event industry professional who suffered baby loss and nominated the charity. We love to receive this kind of nomination from within the industry.”
None of this incredible work happens without the industry itself, which fundraises, partners formally as Foundation Partners, and donates through raffles, auctions and one-off gifts.
A handful of charity places remain for this year’s Royal Parks Half Marathon. Learn more and sign up today on https://www.meetingneeds.org.uk/the-royal-parks-half-marathon/