Founder’s Letter - Autumn 2024
Hey Babes!
I am sending you warmth as the autumn months start to roll in, and I wish you a very happy Black History X ADHD Awareness Month. I hope you have been able to take up space, celebrate, and rest within it all.
This has been a really special few months for us as a community for so many reasons.
I will list a few!
I was nominated for the Stereotype Buster Award at the Genius Within Awards
We won Organisation of the Year alongside organisations such as TextHelp Read&Write (big, big software on Access to work, you know!).
We won Community Organisation of the Year Award at the Inside Out Wellbeing Awards
And most importantly to me, we turned 4 years old on 14th October and celebrated by visiting the Barbican as a collective. If anyone told me 4 years ago when me, Cynthia & Angelica sat down in All Nations Vegan Cafe and planned what we wanted ADHD Babes to be, that it would turn into a multi-award winning, 270 members strong and growing community I don’t know what I would say.
Reflecting on the fact that in the first year, we had absolutely nothing but ideas, passion and a love for our community. We worked tirelessly with no funding (and constant rejections) to make a space where we saw a gap and need. Remembering our directors who have since stepped down, such as Kesi, who poured their whole heart into our art projects, creating our membership platform and a website that truly reflects our ethos, plus so much more. As I remember, I feel a sense of loss and appreciation for all the Zoom faces that became distant friends, all the belly laughs at socials, and the tears held softly within the space.
We would not be where we are today without everyone who has contributed so far. A 29-person team and growing. 991 events with over 5000 sign-ups to date. Over 1700 subscribers, with so much more potential bursting through the surface. The friendships formed, the new jobs started, the leaving of toxic jobs, and the mirrors showing we are not alone, which can make living more bearable in those low places.
Witnessing this idea become a reality in such a reasonably short amount of time moves me deeply. I genuinely feel like I have been blessed to be part of this community and will continue to do my best to create safety, care, joy, and healing for us. That is what we deserve, and I love that we get to give that to ourselves. I really do.
Here’s to another 4 years and more, wishing you well until we speak again!
Lots of love
Vivienne x
Free Haiti - https://hopeforhaiti.com/
Free Congo - Tiktok & link to the petition
Free Palestine - Thread of ways to support
Free Sudan - Thread of ways to support
Suggestions of ways to support numerous causes, including Hawaii, Lebanon & Yemen