Where we started
We spoke to a lot of potential speakers, all with such different interests and talents but willing and able to get involved. We learned so much and we’re so thankful for everyone taking the time to join the conversation.
Who we met?
We met the force of nature that is Angela Kumah. A BCU graduate and all-round superwoman who is involved with so many initiatives around Birmingham, I’m not sure how she has any time for anything else including the amazing ‘Dishes of Change’, a rolling 8-week food school for young people from diverse backgrounds that will help them learn how to cook dishes from around the Commonwealth. We were educated on the importance of avoiding toxic positivity which is a new phrase to us. Helping people to overcome challenges rather than telling them to is essential. Angela nominated Pattigift CIC to receive one of our quarterly community contributions.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Laurence Butler, interim manager for the well known Think Tank Museum who showed us how a single item can be used to draw in and captivate an audience. Laurence nominated Birmingham Children’s Hospital for a contribution, for all the fabulous and tireless work that they do for families in and around Birmingham.
We can’t say we “met” our final speaker, as he’s our colleague at Jump24, but we were reintroduced to another side of Christopher Miller from a personal perspective, as he shared his constant struggle with maintaining good mental health and the tips and tricks that he uses to win everyday battles. We were reminded of the importance of looking after our mental health especially during the wake of the ongoing pandemic and to look out for our friends, family and colleagues.
Chris nominated Friends2Friends as his charity of choice, which is another charity that we had no idea about that supports adults with learning disabilities, other vulnerable adults and their carers.
What we learned
Personally, I feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of initiatives and charities that I had no idea about that I now admire or want to promote as well as the individuals. There are some super talented people out there with some amazing ideas and we want to connect people so that they can share those skills to excel in their venture.
How will we adapt?
We deliberated for months but we wanted to make sure that everyone was on an even playing field with regards to accessing the event right now. That means BTT episode three will take place on Zoom. It would have been amazing to be able to host our first in-person event in September but we look forward to being able to organise one soon. We also know that Zoom fatigue is real, so we really want to make sure to distill the information down and keep it short for our audience. We try to keep the talks as short and impactful as possible and hope that’s working for you as our lovely audience. We know we can always improve, so please let us know your suggestions via twitter DM or email
How can you get involved?
Get involved in the community via Twitter
A retweet goes a long way in spreading the word.
Nominate yourself or someone you know to speak.
You can watch talks from previous events on our website