The events industry is set to gather 1,500 elderly and lonely people for a special festive day to remember this Friday (1 December).
This year’s One Day at Christmas (ODAC) will take place simultaneously across five venues – ExCeL London, the Business Design Centre (London), NEC Birmingham, SEC Glasgow and Farnborough International.
Originally started by Mash Media in 2017 at ExCeL, the event has gathered huge momentum each year. Last year over 70 event companies supported the day with sponsorship, gifts and entertainment.
Mash Media managing director Julian Agostini said: “One Day at Christmas is surely what the festive period is all about – reaching out and wrapping your arms around people who need it the most. There is no better feeling than creating happiness and it’s what the events industry does best; we create experiences and bring people together.
“ODAC has already grown into five venues across the country and we intend for it to be in twice as many next year. There are lots of lonely people throughout the country who all need a bit of care and love especially at this time of year.”
One of the participating venues, the Business Design Centre, has worked with its charity partners at Help On Your Doorstep and Age UK Islington to invite over 250 guests this year.
The BDC marketing and communications director Kate Vandenburg said: “Islington is a London Borough of two contrasting halves, with many people likely to spend the holidays alone or unable to celebrate, so to be able to create a bit of Christmas sparkle is going to be fantastic.”
One Day at Christmas is a special day in the calendar for the other four participating venues, as shown by the following comments given to EN.
Christmas is traditionally a time for being with friends and loved ones, so we didn’t hesitate to once again lend our support to the One Day at Christmas event. ExCeL has a proud history of supporting local good causes, so we’re delighted to be adding to this, and the entire team is looking forward to spreading some festive cheer on the day.”
ExCeL head of business development for exhibitions Nick Coffey
What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to welcome so many brilliant members of our local community into our venue for a festive treat It means so much to us to be able to host One Day at Christmas and our team always jumps at the chance to get involved. Our industry is all about bringing people together and to provide a day for those that may be experiencing loneliness this festive season is really special.”
NEC Group managing director for conventions and exhibitions Ian Taylor
With the generous support of our partners, suppliers, volunteers and many staff from both Farnborough International and our group company ADS, we hope to give our local community members a chance to meet new people, enjoy some delicious food and have fun.”
Farnborough International CEO Gareth Rogers
The SEC prides itself on playing an active role in the broader community, and One Day at Christmas is a great opportunity to do just that. One of the great strengths of our sector is our collaborative spirit, and One Day at Christmas shows that spirit being put into action for a truly worthy cause.”
The SEC director of exhibition sales Dan Thurlow
You can sign up to volunteer at any of the five venues through the ODAC website.
