Last month we celebrated Pride ­– a time for everyone to come together to learn about, appreciate and celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community.

There were marches throughout the country and more are planned ­– including the Manchester Pride march in August – but the celebrations weren’t just in the streets.

Our DayMakers helped put together a range of Pride celebrations for workplaces up and down the country, which were informative, fun, and helped raise money for LGBTQ+ causes.

Sweet treats for a great cause

In London, account manager Milja Takala and her team of DayMakers arranged events to make everyone’s workday just that bit brighter.

In two separate offices, our DayMakers helped run a bake sale and baking competition. At the Munich Re office in the city centre, colleagues banded together to bake a range of sweet treats and sold them to raise money for Stonewall, the largest LGBTQ+ rights advocate in Europe. The event was Pride-themed, with colourful cakes flying off the table. In just two hours, the group raised £250 for the charity, a great achievement for a brilliant cause!

At our parent company Churchill Group’s head office in Luton, things got competitive – the team hosted a bake-off, with contestants making fun creations that were judged by their colleagues. The winner, Kareen Smit won an apron for her efforts and the competition raised over £200 for Stonewall, making the day a great (and tasty!) success.

Kareen reflected: “It was a fun experience did not expect to win against all of the delicious goodies made and it was for a good cause. All in all, a win-win in my book.”

Milja’s team also worked with Amazon Fresh in the week leading up to London Pride to put on an all-day event that flew the LGBTQ+ flags. The team decked out the office building’s foyer and hosted games, held giveaways, and handed out Pride merchandise for people to wear proudly. Games included guessing the price of different Amazon Fresh produce and winning them if correct, bringing some joy to the office ahead of London Pride.

Creative outlets and informative talks

Elsewhere in London, DayMaker Ellie Atkinson and her team worked with their client to host an incredible range of events. The client’s Pride committee originally reached out to the DayMaker team for support with logistics, but quickly included the DayMakers in event planning itself.

The team coordinated to host two Sip ‘n’ Paint sessions, where people received a canvas, paints and a drink, in return for a donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which aims to end the AIDS epidemic.

The first session was during the day and was a roaring success – it was fully booked! Colleagues sipped on mocktails and let their creative sides free, painting anything that came to them.

A second session was hosted in the evening which featured a range of cocktails. During that session, DayMaker Harriet Yap joined in on the fun and sang for the painters, accompanied by a live piano. The head of the Pride committee spotted Harriet’s wonderful voice and invited her to come and sing at another event, where Elton John AIDS Foundation CEO Anne Aslett spoke to some of the colleagues in the building.

Anne discussed the history of HIV and AIDS, and how despite it no longer being an epidemic in the UK, the illness still disproportionately affects people across areas in the African, Asian and Eastern European diaspora. Money raised by the Sip ‘n’ Paint sessions helped fund the foundation’s educational and support programmes that break down HIV and AIDS stigma and teach people safe practices. Together, the events raised £45 for the foundation and their message was shared to a new audience.

 The DayMakers are such an incredible group of people and on behalf of our Pride Network I’m extremely grateful for their support throughout Pride Month as well as outside of that. Without request from the network, they planned some awesome activities to celebrate Pride month – including hosting Sip n Paints in our  office. We also partnered on a subsequent external event we hosted with the Elton John AIDS Foundation – during which one of the DayMakers, Hattie, provided entertainment for the evening – singing songs and playing the keyboard (a part of the event which has stayed with so many since the event!).

Thank you DayMakers and a special shout-out to Ellie & Bianca for everything you do!

Andy Bassett – interim head of operational resilience & Pride Network Co-Chair. 

Plans for the future

Though Pride month is over, the celebrations aren’t stopping there. Manchester Pride is coming up in August, and Fara Painter and her team are planning some amazing ways to get people to have fun and stay informed on issues facing the LGBTQ+ community.

They’ve planned a “beer pong” questionnaire to get people having fun and learning about LGBTQ+ causes at the same time. A floor in the office building will (of course) be decked out in rainbow decorations, and coworkers will compete by answering LGBTQ+ questions to learn about the community and compete for the prizes of beer they can take home (they will drink water during the competition!).

Elsewhere in Manchester, the DayMaker team plans on a fun-filled photo booth – featuring a rainbow balloon arch and printable snaps for colleagues to come together and say, “Happy Manchester Pride!”.

We can’t wait to see these plans come to life next month and see what our DayMakers have planned throughout the rest of the year. While Pride Month is a designated time to support the LGBTQ+ community, we want to ensure that everyone feels welcome and included every day of the year.

That’s all part of enhancing the employee experience and making someone’s day!

If you’re interested in planning workplace events or want to know more about how we can make your employees’ day, learn about our guest services.