We Shall Overcome – October 2nd – 4th

·20th May 2015·1 min read

We Shall Overcome is weekend of fundraising and awareness-raising events taking place in October to benefit those affected by homelessness

There is a project taking place over the October bank holiday weekend called We Shall Overcome. The idea is that musicians should give their services free that weekend and have gigs with admission prices as donations to food banks or homeless organisations. Each event would be its own autonomous thing and there’s no hierarchy for permission. It would be nice to know where the event is on and publicise them all centrally. I think it can go further than musicians and gigs, and am hoping to run food drives in work places, youth clubs, football teams, book clubs or wherever.

Here’s what the instigators have to say about it:

“Every weekend across the country we have an explosion of music and culture. It’s something to be proud of – Gigs, open mics, poetry, stand up. It makes our communities vibrant and strong. But we also know that in our communities people are being hit hard by homelessness and poverty. There is a human cost to the politics of austerity.

‘We Shall Overcome’ is a simple shout out to the people who make our culture happen – the musicians, artists, promoters. For one weekend, let’s do what we do but let’s do it under one unified banner – We Shall Overcome. Let’s do it together to show our solidarity and send a message that we don’t agree with austerity politics.

Let’s all work for free that weekend and encourage our audience to bring food for foodbanks or make donations to homeless projects. Sometimes when things feel hopeless, it’s good to sing, laugh and be around people. It’s just a gesture, it won’t change the world but it may just change someone’s? Want to join us?”

We Shall Overcome was set up in the UK but is looking for people to get involved in Ireland, not only to show solidarity but also to give assistance to the homelessness crisis in this country. Over 100 people sleep on the streets of Dublin every night with up to 12% of children living in consistent poverty. So why not do something that weekend, let’s get together and let’s get involved.

You can find out more or get involved at https://thumped.com/bbs/threads/we-shall-overcome.95517/.

https://weshallovercomeweekend.wordpress.com/