In a world which is becoming increasingly virtual we can often feel disconnected from each other. With 1 in 4 of us experiencing a mental illness each year, mental health should be a priority for us all. Share Smiles aims to promote mental health by creating human connection through anonymous gift giving to make each other smile and show anyone struggling that they are not alone.
How it works
Participants sign up through the website and every month receive a name (first or nickname if preferred) picked at random to send a little gift to make them smile. This can be anything from a little present or home made card with a personal message of support and encouragement to give the receiver a mood boost. Each participant's name would be sent out to another member at random to receive smiles back. It’s totally free to join and the hope is that it will improve mental health and show anyone struggling that they are not alone. Our website includes gift ideas as well as a blog where people can contribute stories, ideas and share support and encouragement.
How it started
Having suffered with depression and anxiety myself for many years, as well as witnessing family and friends battle the black dog I decided to set up Share smiles as a way to try and connect people. The nature of mental illness causes isolation and makes it difficult to reach out. This can make sufferers feel very alone which feeds the illness further.
The idea of sending gifts to strangers came after I was lucky enough to receive many acts of kindness from my friends and family when I lost control of my own depression and was admitted to hospital. Friends sent me photos and little gifts to make me smile which showcased good times and adventures we had shared together, I stuck these all around my bed as a reminder of who I was and that I was loved and cared for even when I couldn't feel it for myself. These small acts of kindness from my friends was an anchor when I was completely lost in the darkness. I wanted to find a way that I could spread this to people who aren't as lucky to have those meaningful connections, often because mental illness has deprived them of it.
Although my hope is for Share Smiles to provide some hope and connection to those lost in mental illness it's not just people going through a hard time who can benefit from the scheme. I believe we all benefit from random acts of kindness and feeling connected to one another will help anyone whether they are going through a tough time or not. My hope is that receiving a Share Smiles gift will help someone battling to survive the day, however, for others it might also be a way to turn a good day into a great one! The act of giving freely is not only good for the soul but you never know who's day you might change, maybe even their life.
Why we need funding
Gifts are sent to a central address where a team of volunteers check that everything is appropriate and send on to the individuals. This increases the cost of postage as each parcel is sent twice; to the central address and then on to the receiver. We feel that this is necessary to be able to keep personal data secure and to ensure that all gifts are checked to ensure the scheme is safe and appropriate. We don't ever want the cost of postage to be a barrier and our aim is to cover the cost of all postage through a free-post registration for the central address and pre-paid envelopes to send on to receivers. We are hoping to raise the funds to ensure that we can cover this cost for the first year while we fine tune the process and create a sustainable source of funding.
Let's support each other and in a world where we often feel disconnected do something real and kind to make each other smile.
Breaking down the target
We are basing our target on the estimate that we will have 50 participants signed up in the first 6 months (we had 32 sign up within the first month of going live so we think this is a more than realistic estimate), and 100 participants in the first 12 months.
Postage costs between £0.60p and £3 per gift which is an average of £1.80 per participant each month.
Gifts must be sent twice; firstly to the central address and then on to the address of the recipient. If we wish to cover full postage this takes the cost to £3.60 per person each month.
For the first 6 months with 50 participants the approximate costs of full postage will be £180 per month equalling £1080 total.
The second 6 months with up to 100 participants the approximate costs of postage will be £360 per month equalling £2160.
The total for the first year are therefore estimated to be £3240 for us to cover full postage.
The first few months I will be asking to cover the costs of postage to the central address and we will cover onward sending. I would like to eventually be able to set up a freepost address to cover this too. With your help we feel this should be realistic.
The Share Smiles Logo
The Share-Smiles logo is a smiley face and there is a very special story behind it. Nearly 2 months ago I lost one of my favourite people in the world to suicide and in part this inspired me to try and make a difference.
G was one of those people who just made me smile; a message, phone call or one of his random postcards just put a huge grin on my face, he was one of those people able to light up a room just by being in it.
G's signature smiley face ended every letter from him and his favourite colour was Orange, like a sunset. It made sense that the Share-Smiles logo be a tribute to him and I love that I have been able to incorporate both of these aspects.
I know that G would have approved of the Share-Smiles concept and it represents what he meant to me in my own life; just hearing from him no matter how bad my day was going would make me smile and I am so happy to be able to tribute him in some way.
My hope is that Share-Smiles might light up someone's day and maybe even give them the strength to fight on when they need it most by knowing they are not alone.
So here is my tribute to one of the most beautiful souls I am lucky enough to have crossed paths with in my life, I am really happy that Share-Smiles can in some small way create a little sunshine in his memory.