‘The Great Escape’ by Jill, a team member of The Advocacy Project SURGE Camden project.
Introducing our Christmas cards
On 16 November 2016 we launched The Advocacy Project Christmas cards for the first time. We asked the people we work with – living with mental health issues, learning disabilities, older people and people with dementia – to create art that would send out our collective Christmas wishes.
Seven unique handmade works of art have been created and incorporated in our Christmas cards.
The story behind their creation
Some of the people we work with are unable to see their families and friends over Christmas. They may be in inpatient units, cannot go home and won’t receive cards at Christmas. This inspired us to create our own Christmas cards to reach out to these people. The Advocacy Project work is shaped by the people we work with; we thought that the design of the cards needed to come from the very same people.
Original artwork
We asked the people we work with to create art to be used for the cards. We asked them to contribute with their very own unique ‘take’ on Christmas, the art could be anything, not necessarily a reindeer or a tree, but anything they felt inspired to create, and in any media – paint, sketch, crayon or collage – as long as it could be photographed. As a result, we received seven different amazing artworks; each of them was a unique and original representation of Christmas.
How we sold the cards
The cards were sold on eBay through The Advocacy Project listing.
The cards were sold in packs, each pack cost £5 and contained seven individually designed hand made work of arts, all celebrating Christmas with a plain white envelope. Six were left blank for you to add your own personal greeting message, and one had a Christmas message written by the designer who was really keen to share a personal wish.
How your money helped
By sending an Advocacy Project Christmas card you helped us to provide more services that enable people to have their voice heard, uphold their rights and make choices.
Further information
A day in the life of… a forensic advocate
Tackling the prevalent loneliness in London’s care homes and mental health wards
From one service user to another