OWs Raise Money for Charity With “Soulstice Festival”
Soulstice Festival is a one day and one night charity music festival that takes place in the Surrey Hills at the end of summer in aid of the RNLI and Young Minds charities. The event includes over 12 hours of music, camping and on-site and entertainment for all guests, with proceeds going to the two charities.
My brother, Jamie (OW 2008-13) and I came up with the idea of running a charity festival back in 2017. We ran our first event in September 2018, thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt areas where we wanted to improve. This helped us make the second year a great success, which took place on Saturday 31st August. Music ranged from live bands to DJs all performing a variety of funk, disco, soul and more. This year’s line-up included two hours on the decks from fellow OW Will Goodall (2008-15) that was watched by over 30 more old boys, who formed a part of the 300+ attendees.
We pride inclusivity and diversity in our festival from the music to the attendees, which were values we experienced at Whitgift. We also are focused on investing in upcoming and home-grown talent – two more values we experienced at Whitgift across a range of co-curricular activities.
We are committed to the fact that the festival is non-profit and our priority is the proceeds going to the two chosen charities both close to our hearts. In July 2012, Whitgiftian Charlie Hutton tragically died in a motorboat accident and the RNLI were truly admirable in their services. Ever since, we have supported the RNLI in various ways and after creating the festival, we wanted to continue this.
Young Minds is an equally special charity through the work they do to help mental health in young people. Jamie’s and my experiences with mental health, as well as those dear to us, motivated us to build a relationship with this charity. In our first year, we raised £6,200 from Soulstice and we are hoping to raise another great total this year.
If you would like to donate to our two brilliant charities, our Just Giving page is: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/soulstice2019
If you would like to find out more about the festival, our website is: https://soulsticefestival.org/
If you would like to contact us about anything regarding Soulstice, please email: soulsticefestival1@gmail.com
If you are interested, keep an eye on our website for news and updates regarding Soulstice 2020.
With thank to Max Cantellow for the photos.
George Oyebode, OW (2008-16)
