“Define yourself in your own terms. In terms of gender, race, anything. We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love.”

Quote by Laverne Cox

 

Hello from the British LGBT Awards team, and welcome to our weekly coronavirus update. We hope you are all keeping safe and well!

If you follow us on Twitter, you may have seen our posts about International Transgender Day of Visibility, which took place on Tuesday.

We spent the day celebrating our trans, non-binary and gender-diverse siblings and all of their achievements or contributions to their larger communities. Don’t worry if you missed it – you can lift up your gender-diverse siblings any day of the week, through helping to raise awareness or educating others about the issues these individuals face.

 

Here is some handy content to get you started:

 

 

This week we would also like to highlight the amazing work that some of our 2020 sponsors are doing to support the community during the coronavirus crisis.

This week Category Sponsor Johnson & Johnson announced their lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 which they are hoping to have ready by September. Not only this, but J&J have committed to supply one billion vaccines worldwide for emergency pandemic use. Find out more here.

2020 Category Sponsor Just Eat are also helping the community, as they have announced a £10m support package to help our restaurants on their app for the next month. Just Eat have also waived all sign-up fees for new restaurants and are offering NHS staff 25% off to say thank you! Read more.

Cosmetics conglomerate, and 2020 Supporting Sponsor, L’Oréal have also stepped up to help combat the spread of coronavirus by diverting production to focus on hand sanitiser. L’Oréal have also pledged to help small businesses by freezing all “receivables owed” to reduce the financial burdens these businesses no-doubt experiencing. Find out more.

 

We continue to be in awe of our amazing NHS workers and other key workers during this pandemic, and encourage you to do anything you can in support.

Don’t forget to join in again with the ‘Clap for Carers’ tonight at 8pm to show your appreciation for NHS staff, teachers, carers and other key workers.

If you can, help the Let’s Beat COVID-19 team by donating ££. They are aiming to raise £50,000 to to provide better PPE for our NHS doctors, nurses and clinical staff – Find out more.

We hope you’re staying safe and socially isolating as advised. To help pass the time we have an updated list of things to keep yourself occupied with or things to look forward to.

 

Watch

 

Listen

 

Play

 

Socialise

  • Join Pride in London’s Queer House Party – the virtual event connecting LGBT+ people in isolation across the world. Find out more.
  • Mermaids UK’s DigiFest kicks off this weekend – an interactive festival streamed live on Twitch with special celebrity guests, live music and discussions. Get ready to join in the fun and find out more here.
  • Why not become a Telefriending volunteer with Opening Doors London? This free service aims to support isolated and/or housebound LGBT+ people aged over 50 by calling them weekly, at a regular time for up to 30-minutes.

If social isolation is getting you down, you’re not alone! Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline and MindOut are here for you, offering confidential support in these anxiety inducing times.

 

Keep safe, stay healthy and stay in touch!