The North East singer-songwriter Beth Macari has recorded a soulful rendition of the Christmas classic, ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, in aid of The Sick Children’s Trust and the mental health support service, Discova.
The recording marks the launch of a new campaign from Discova which offers 12 days of its tech-enabled mental health service for free over the Christmas period.
Teaming up with The Sick Children’s Trust, Discova has pledged that for every person who signs up for the free trial, it will gift a free 30 days to an individual or family supported by The Sick Children’s Trust.
The unimaginable pain and stress that comes with a child being hospitalised can have a huge impact on the mental health of the child’s family. With the launch of its latest campaign, Discova saw an opportunity to support the charity in its work providing emotional support for those in need.
Co-founder of Discova, Lizzy Hodcroft said: “This year has been particularly hard for everyone and with Christmas around the corner, we wanted to do our part to spread some cheer.
“Christmas brings joy to so many but there are still families that are dealing with the strain of being far apart, especially if their child is in the hospital. Through this campaign, we’re aiming to raise the profile of The Sick Children’s Trust and also provide mental health support to those families in need.
“All charities have struggled this year, missing out on vital funds that would have been raised were it not for the pandemic. As a North East business with strong ties to the services that support us, we knew we needed to help The Sick Children’s Trust in any way we could.”
The Sick Children’s Trust is expecting to make a loss of 25-30% of its income this year as a result of the pandemic and the cancellation of fundraising events.
Head of Operations (North) for the charity, Sam Haley, continued: “As we rely on the generosity of the community to help us to keep families together, this year has been an extremely challenging year for us, as it has been for everyone.
“We have been constantly reviewing our operations this year so that we can keep as many families together, safely, with their seriously ill children in hospital. As a result, we have been able to keep our doors open throughout 2020 which is testament to the hard work of our frontline staff, and all those behind the scenes, as well as the overwhelming support we have received from the people of the North East.”
After what has been an incredibly hard year for so many people, Christmas has become more important than ever for people to recuperate from the stresses of the pandemic.
In addition to supporting the mental health of people in need, Discova and The Sick Children’s Trust are seeking to spread the Christmas spirit with the campaign, calling on one of the North East’s favourite singer songwriters, Beth Macari, to recreate the seasonal classic, ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’.
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Discova on their ’12 Days of Christmas’ campaign,” explains Beth. “Offering 12 days of their mental health service for free to anyone who signs up, and also offering support to the parents and families at the wonderful charity The Sick Children’s Trust, who are providing invaluable services to the families of seriously ill children.
“I was able to visit The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Home from Home’ Crawford House where they offer rooms for the parents so that they can be just minutes away from the hospital. The facilities and services were phenomenal. I couldn’t be happier supporting the incredible work they do.”
Macari has never shied away from the issue of mental health, exploring themes such as self-doubt, body confidence and self-acceptance in her music. Earlier this year, the pop singer released her latest single, ‘I Am’, which raised funds for the suicide prevention charity, If U Care Share Foundation.
According to Discova’s founders, Macari’s soulful voice and personal experience with mental health made her the perfect fit for the campaign.
Lizzy Hodcroft added: “Beth was an obvious choice for this campaign. She brings light and warmth to her audience when she sings and has always championed mental health. Having her alongside us to bring this campaign to life has helped us to bring some Christmas cheer into our message!
Discova will be hosting its first ever mental health conference, Discova X Con, in 2021 with a celebrity panel including Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah, former Premier League footballer Clarke Carlisle, Scottish artist Alexander Millar and Beth Macari.
To watch Beth’s video visit: https://bit.ly/37iQEcr
For more information about the 12 Days of Christmas Campaign, visit: discovahealth.com/12-days-of-christmas/
For more information about the Discova X Con conference head to https://discovahealth.com/discova-x-con/
