A ‘Thank You’ BBQ was thrown last week in Milton Keynes in anticipation of Thank You Day that will take place on Sunday July 7.
Thank You Day began with a handful of organisations looking for a way to enable people to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone and everything that helped them through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, a BB-Thank-Q took place at The Green Man pub in Eversholt, Milton Keynes, to thank key workers and unsung heroes in the community, ahead of Thank You Day on July 7.
The together coalition is a coalition of about 400 different organisations, businesses, charities and community organisations, chaired by the archbishop of Canterbury.
They have a simple mission, which is to build closer and more connected communities. In the last few years, the coalition felt there were lots of reasons why community connects have struggled in the country, and as an organisation, they wanted to come together in a big collective movement to try and find those opportunities for people to come together and connect.
Emeka Forbes, who is part of the together coalition, the organisation also behind The Big Help Out said, “It’s really quite straight forward. You go out, find an opportunity to connect with people in your community, find the people that make a difference. Whether that’s teachers, carers, NHS workers, your neighbours, whoever it is, and find a way to say thank you to them.”
Emeka continued, “You can do it by hosting a BBQ like the one we’re at today, raising a glass to say cheers to volunteers, you can have a picnic, there are loads of ways you can get involved so our message to the country is say ‘Thank you’. Let’s have a moment on the 7th July this year to come together and express your gratitude for those who make a difference.”
The BB-Thank-Q was hosted by Candice Brown at her, and her brother’s pub. Candice said, “I grew up in pubs, mum and dad run pubs for twenty-five years, so I know and understand that pubs really are the centre of a community. When I think of ‘thank you’ I think, take someone down the pub for a drink, buy them a drink and say thank you."
Instinctively, people navigate their lives without talking to others around them. You don’t always know your neighbours, or people on the streets. Thank You Day is that chance to remind many that there is a reason to go out and have conversations with people you may not interact with in your day to day lives.
Candice continued, “I was asked to be involved in the Big Help Out, which I did. I went to some food banks, and it was just phenomenal what I saw, heartbreaking but amazing and knowing this is going on nationwide. There were around 6.5 million volunteers that came in from that. Thank You Day is hopefully a way of saying thank you to those volunteers, neighbours, and family.”
The day is a reminder of the people that are working hard and are the backbone of society who may not always get the appreciation they deserve and is for whoever you want to thank and show gratitude to. There is no right or wrong way of celebrating the day.
To find out how you can take part in Thank You Day, please visit https://thankyouday.org.uk/
