A new campaign has been launched and it’s urging businesses in Greater Manchester and beyond to donate their cancelled Christmas party budgets to charity.
The #XmasPartyHeroes campaign – which has already raised more than £500,000 in less than a week – is the brainchild of Mark Hawthorn, the CEO of investor Landmark Group, and as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has already caused most businesses to cancel their Christmas parties this year, it is encouraging companies to donate any unused funds to a charity of their choice.
A number of high-profile national companies have already signed up.
Companies that have pledged money to charities through the campaign so far include Timpson, Property Alliance Group, Urban Splash, FK Group and Barratt Developments – and the commitment is growing.
Charities have also picked up on the idea and are promoting it to their partners too.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking on the launch and the initial success of the campaigh, Mark Hawthorn said: “There will be lots of unspent Christmas party budgets this year and this campaign offers a really simple and effective solution that many businesses may not have considered.
“I only had the idea a week ago and after making a few calls to sound it out, I’ve been inundated with people wanting to get onboard.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The reaction so far shows there is the potential to raise tens of millions of pounds for charity.”
He continued: “With the help of my team, we’ve launched a Xmas Party Heroes website to support the campaign and keep the momentum going. All we ask is that businesses let us know how much they have donated so we can keep a running total and help make a massive difference to those who need it the most.”
Victoria Russell – Director at Property Alliance Group – added: “Charities need support more than ever in 2020 and Xmas Party Heroes is a great way to raise a significant amount of money and awareness.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit disadvantaged communities the hardest, with increasing numbers of children and young people that would not have previously been identified as vulnerable, now moving into thresholds of higher need.
“Unemployment is increasing, loneliness, food poverty, issues relating to emotional health and wellbeing are all on the rise, which create additional demand and pressure on public services.
“It’s great to see so many businesses getting behind this idea and helping to raise much needed funds.”
Xmas Party Heroes
Adam Farricker, CEO, HideOut Youth Zone, Manchester added: “Whilst local charities and youth services have been hit hard across the country, they have continued to deliver essential services throughout this time, providing critical support when and where needed the most in the heart of our local communities.
“As a youth work charity in Manchester, HideOut Youth Zone continues to provide young people with somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk do. Professional experienced youth workers take a holistic approach to supporting young people, their families and the wider community, with the aim of tackling existing and emerging inequalities, building resilience and improving life chances.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We are committed to continuing our work to support the most vulnerable in the lead up to Christmas and are extremely grateful to the donations we have received on the back of this campaign – any donations, large or small, would be gratefully received and can be sent to us directly via our Virgin Giving page.”
Fancy getting involved?
You can find more information about taking part in the campaign through visiting the Xmas Party Heroes website here, and by following @XmasPartyHeroes on Twitter, as well as the #XmasPartyHeroes and #JoinInToHelpOut hashtags.
Trending
James Acaster reveals eerie song all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable
Emily Sergeant
James Acaster has revealed the eerie (and pretty surprising) song that all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable.
In case you’ve been living comfortably under a rock, you’ll probably be aware that comedian James Acaster is currently a contestant on this current season of BBC‘s smash-hit reality TV competition show, The Celebrity Traitors – a show that viewers in their millions are tuning into each week, with some big names on the cast.
Acaster is currently (spoiler alert… but it shouldn’t be at this point, we are several weeks in after all) one of three Traitors competing on the show, and he’s doing a pretty good job at it.
But we wonder how much of his success can be put down to the producers’ love of a certain song they like to play before every roundtable? Probably next to none, but it’s surprising to find out how much of an integral role the tune plays though.
The song we’re referring to here, it has been revealed, is ‘The Hanging Tree’ – a folk ballad made popular by The Hunger Games.
‘The Hanging Tree’, composed by James Newton Howard and Suzanne Collins, was famously sung by Jennifer Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in the third instalment of the film franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
The lyrics are as follows:
Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man They say who murdered three? Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met at midnight In the hanging tree
So, as you can see, the song does make reference to ‘murder’, which is a key part of The Traitors game (not real murder, of course), but even with that context, we’re still not sure why the producers are keen to play it out before every roundtable.
During a viral TikTok clip from an on-stage Q&A this week, Acaster revealed the song’s usage to the audience: “You all walk in silence down the corridor, and you all sit down, and they don’t announce it’s gonna happen.
“The first time this will completely blindside you, but they do it every single roundtable. They play that song from The Hunger Games, that ‘coming to the tree’ song. Like acapella, Jennifer Lawrence.”
He continued: “It was every f***ing time, it was the only song we heard the whole time we were in there, and all day I would have it in my head constantly, everyone would, I’d go ‘have you got coming to the tree in your head?’ and they’d go ‘yes, it’s in my head, again’.”
Viewers who watch the show may have spotted the song being played in the background or transition between certain scenes, but now it’s been revealed that the contestants hear it too.
Who would’ve thought?
Featured Image – Euan Cherry / BBC / Studio Lambert
Trending
Tickets officially go on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Tickets have now officially gone on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester.
Arriving on screens from 18 December and gearing up to be one of the most anticipated films of the year, Dune: Part Three – which is the third and final instalment in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise – will be screening in IMAX 70mm at Vue Manchester Printworks, one of only three venues to show it in this format nationwide.
There are only 40 other venues across the globe showing the film in IMAX 70mm, and Manchester is the only city outside of London to screen the blockbuster this way too.
Based on the novels of Frank Herbert and set nearly two decades after the previous film, Dune: Part Three features an ensemble cast of all-star names led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Alongside them will be Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.
After seats for a special early screening of the film in IMAX sold out in less than 30 minutes last month, the IMAX 70mm showings – which officially went live today (20 October) – are expected to be snapped up fast by film fans in Manchester.
“A decade in the making, Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune trilogy is reaching its dramatic conclusion this December,” explained Dean Cross, who is the Senior Screen Content Manager at Vue.
“As the only venue outside of London to be screening Dune: Part Three in IMAX 70mm, it’s a privilege for us to offer this unique way to experience the film.”
Emily Sergeant -
11th November 2020 
