Design Haven for Heroes: World Rainbow Day
Today is the 2nd of October and also World Rainbow Day!! Children and businesses all around the UK are helping raise money and support Design Haven for Heroes a non-profit organisation and collaboration of interior designers helping our NHS Heroes create a stress-free home.
World Rainbow Day has been created by 10-year-old Tilly Hatfield Edgar and her family to pay tribute to all the Heroes who have been putting others before themselves and to remember people most affected by the pandemic. This special day has been led by children to encourage everyone to wear colourful clothing, in rainbow shades as a tribute to our incredible key workers and the many other wonderful people within our communities, who have joined forces to help during this truly heart-breaking and unprecedented time.
“We hope World Rainbow Day is to provide a special opportunity for schools to encourage children to talk about their feelings and share their experiences during this time, and to learn more about the remarkable people that have come together to help” explains Tilly’s mother, interior designer Emma Hatfield Watkins. The iconic depiction of the rainbow has been used for centuries, as a symbol for many things, but never has it been used so widely by such a great number of children than during this pandemic. The rainbow image has been adopted all around the globe, as a sign of hope and positivity. “We would love for everyone to embrace the day with wonderful rainbow-themed ideas and exciting colourful displays in schools, shops and high streets, that will help contribute to making this day extra special” explains Tilly
To complement the day, World Rainbow Day has collaborated with Design Havens for Heroes, A charity that Ella Goodsell Interior Designs works with and supports. Here I am wearing our Design Havens for Heroes t-shirt designed by Carly Lawson, daughter of dame Twiggy Lawson who is one of the charities ambassadors. T-shirts are for sale on the fundraising page of the World Rainbow Day which you can find here.
Design Haven for Heroes initiative was created by interior designer Francesca Rowan Plowden which is offering NHS workers who have been on the front line over the last few months singular room makeovers or ‘havens’ in their own homes. If you have a friend or relative that works for the NHS you can nominate them for an interior makeover or even nominate yourself if you are an NHS front-liner and don’t have the time to decorate yourself. The organisation is supported by some amazing interior designers and suppliers and is done over a four day period. If you would like to nominate someone you can do this on the DH4H website, click here for more info.
World Rainbow Day's goal is to raise funds for the charity, through the ‘Pot of Gold Collection’ which is an optional donation of £1 that the children and adults may like to make while wearing colourful clothing on World Rainbow Day. “If enough people donate, a simple £1 could turn into something truly magical! We dare to dream” says Tilly.
“We would love this to inspire other fun and exciting fundraising ideas“ explains Francesca Rowan Plowden. Collectively and with community support the hope is that the concept of ‘World Rainbow Day’ could grow, with the overall aim that it could become an annual event, to recognise and honour the extraordinary efforts made by so many and act as a symbol to show our love to the many, families that have sadly lost loved ones to Covid-19.
If you would like to keep updated with the latest news from DH4H, follow them on Instagram here.
Thanks for reading.
Ella
