Blue Sunday is a dedicated day for the M.E. community and their allies to come together to fundraise for M.E. causes, break some of the isolation we feel, and raise awareness of the illness that has blighted, impacted, and taken our lives. It successfully engages people from outside of ‘the M.E. bubble’ with a cause that is so often overlooked, stigmatised against, and belittled.
Origin story
The Blue Sunday Tea Party For M.E. came about after I was too unwell to celebrate my birthday in November 2012. As I was unable to mark the occasion in ways I had before, I asked my family and friends to join me for a virtual party, posting photos and videos of themselves raising a mug of tea and enjoying a slice of cake. It felt so wonderful to feel connected with my loved ones when I was unable to leave the house or have any visitors.
As M.E. Awareness month (May) was approaching in 2013, I started to feel that something was needed to commemorate it. It seemed wrong that there was nothing (accessible) that people with M.E. could get behind. So, I had a go at changing that.
As someone with M.E. I am so restricted by my ill health that the ‘conventional’ methods of fundraising, such a running a marathon, weren’t at all appropriate. The success of my virtual birthday party had me hoping I could do the same again as a fundraising event.
“Life with M.E. can be incredibly isolating. Often, people with M.E. are too unwell to receive visitors. The communication, sensory overload, and exertion of even a five-minute visit will likely leave the sufferer worse off than they were before. Many people with M.E. are housebound, often bedbound, and so making the journey to be with us here today is impossible.
Throughout the day photos and videos from our tea party will be uploaded onto social media where those unable to join us in-person can feel a part of something.
An extract from the leaflet that used at my own tea parties
So, the Blue Sunday tea party was born. (The name ‘Blue Sunday’ came about completely by chance from a title of a blog post I made after the first Tea Party For M.E in 2013.)
I invited friends and family to join me online again, only this time I was well enough to have a select few join me in-person, for afternoon tea. I asked for small donations of the price people would expect to pay for a pot of tea and a slice of cake in a coffee shop. I uploaded photos and videos of the little event being held at home so that even those stuck in bed on the other side of the world could join in online.
10 years on
Blue Sunday has become a staple in the community’s calendar, influencing and encouraging M.E. charities to be more inclusive of the people they are supporting.
Tea Parties For M.E. are now held internationally, as standard, with members of the M.E. community and their family/friends hosting their own tea parties at home, at work, at street parties, or via video call.
Fundraising Totals
- 2013 = £248
- 2014 = £976
- 2015 = £5740
- 2016 = £2366
- 2017 = £1407
- 2018 = £1400
- 2019 = £1310
- 2020 = £6517
- 2021 = £21,327
- 2022 = £30,000
- 2023 = £36,660
- 2024 = £40,024
- 2025 = £24,591
Many people have always taken the opportunity to donate to M.E causes close to their hearts. So in 2021 I reached out to more charities than ever before and I try to keep track of the total amount donated to multiple M.E. causes on the day.
The grand total raised since 2013 now stands at over £170,000. Not bad for a simple idea I had during the poorliest time of my life.
Related link What have tea and cake got to do with M.E?
'M.E. myself and I' by Anna Redshaw 