A massive thank you is in order for all those who were involved in our ground-breaking comedy gig; from everyone who helped organise the event, to those who attended and brought their friends and families. We sold 183 tickets and raised nearly £1000. For our first attempt at running an event of this kind this is a brilliant result, of which we are very proud. The comedians were really nice and very generous, providing thought-provoking pre-gig interviews and making us laugh all night, in return for cake and fruit provided by Birmingham Friends of the Earth volunteers. They also helped the evening run smoothly, and The Glee Club ran an extremely slick and professional operation, taking a lot of the pressure off our shoulders and enabling us to focus on what we needed to do.
As well as being a fundraising event, aimed to raise money for the Bee Cause, the gig was also an important awareness-raising event. Many of the people who attended would not have known about the importance of bees to our economy, our ecosystems and our food supply, if it were not for this comedy evening. Also, people not already involved in Birmingham Friends of the Earth were able to see what we stand for and what we do. The evaluation forms filled in on the night suggest that people thought the event was good value for money and would be interested in attending similar events in the future. Everyone I’ve spoken to about the gig agreed about the positives.
From a personal perspective, I am proud of what we have achieved. I put a lot of work into this event, sometimes spending more hours on the gig than my actual job! The time was well spent in the end, but at many points it looked like our efforts were going to be in vain. We pooled our resources, pulled together and triumphed. The highlight from my point of view was getting two standing ovations for my mini stand-up routine (thanks to our brilliant compere for the evening, Joe Lycett).
Thanks to this event we now have significant funds for The Bee Cause campaign, and we want to use the money as effectively as possible. If you would like to share any thoughts on how the money should be spent we would love to hear from you, email us on campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk.
Maybe we will see you at the Glee Club next year?
