It’s that time of year again when the gym is overflowing, pubs fear for their livelihood and people decide to go meat and diary free. Many of us decide to abstain for a worthy cause, but do we really consider the fantastic charities behind these popular campaigns?
We look at the charities promoting these prevalent campaigns in January and continuing throughout the course of the year.
Veganuary is a charity inspiring people to try to adopt the vegan lifestyle for January and hopefully convince consumers to adapt their lifestyle throughout the rest of the year. Their mission is to inspire and support people to give veganism a go, with their official ambassadors including Chris Packham, Anthony Mullally, Dan Geisler and Jasmine Harman.
With over 250,000 people from 190 countries registered for the month-long vegan pledge in 2019 and winners of the Best Support Network, as voted for by the Vegan Food & Living Magazine community, Veganuary is influencing change at a quick rate.
Being Vegan : Day 14 . A chat with @piersmorgan on @GMB , being asked whether I’m a hypocrite , plastics , palm oil and the @GreggsOfficial sausage roll . About not being perfect , looking for solutions and about the need to be nice to make a difference @WeAreVeganuary pic.twitter.com/FjNJ3lSoWi
— Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) January 14, 2019
Hannah Beecham, CEO and Founder of RED January, decided to launch the initiative after witnessing the transformative effect that regular exercise had on her Mum as she recovered from a period of severe depression.
With a community of 90,000 individuals dedicated to RED January, the event has managed to raise over £1.7m for their charity partner, Mind. Inspiring people to get active, the campaign has reported that 87% of people felt significantly better physically and mentally after completing RED January 2019.
One of the bigger ones, Cancer Research UK encourages the nation to take on the ultimate test of willpower by going booze-free for one month and raise vital funds to help beat cancer.
Since its launch in 2013, Dryathon has raised over £22m. Throughout the campaign they also raise awareness around the types of cancer that drinking can cause and support participants to cut down alcohol intake, regardless of their drinking habits.
The campaign offers an online calculator to work out how much money can be saved when taking part in the campaign and suggests other options to fundraising such as donating the amount you would have spent on alcohol throughout the month instead
Macmillan Cancer Support: Go Sober for October
January isn’t the only month urging people to cut the drink. Go Sober for October encourages individuals to go alcohol free for the 31 days of October and raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Macmillan’s 2019 campaign entices supporters to join 66,166 Soberheros and add to the magnificent £3,452,579 raised so far this year. Their social campaign also provides details on where the money raised will go and educates you on the health benefits with tips on how to get through the month with ease. They even provide you with a Golden Ticket, for those that may have a birthday, wedding or special occasion they would like to drink at – this will cost you a healthy £15.
The Movember Foundation promotes men’s health and raises awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. By 2030 they aim to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.
Their most well-known campaign is Movember, where men (and women) have a month to grow and adorn all types of facial hair. However, the charity hosts many other campaigns including Move for Movember, encouraging everyone to run or walk 60 kilometres over the month of October.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Movember (@movember) on
With over 180,000 charities in England and Wales, and countless incredible campaigns launching daily, find out how public relations can benefit your campaign or awareness day campaign. Get in touch with a member of our award-winning team today to find out more.
