Big Orange Heart are supporting and promoting positive mental health within the WordPress community.
The team behind the Big Orange Heart charity come from a place of experience and understanding. We appreciate the challenges, the extreme highs and extreme lows of running web and digital-focused businesses, because we are business owners in this space. We understand the potential for isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression, because we’ve experienced it first hand!
In the video below, we highlight some of the pressures business owners in the digital space can feel and how we can work together to break the taboo and bring together support and resources.
Anyone in the WordPress community can join or ask for help from Big Orange Heart. It is open to people in and around the WordPress community who want to support others. We’re working together to reduce social isolation and bring down barriers relating to mental health.
Big Orange Heart is here to support you. We want to be here to help business owners, freelancers and remote workers.
You may already have taken steps to change your life and we want you to know that you don’t have to walk alone. You can make changes in your working life to improve your health.
Through mentorship, support, training and education, Big Orange Heart is developing services to support the WordPress community in four key areas.
- Code Health – improve the quality of your products through training courses
- Business Health – develop your business further with a mentor
- Mental Health – receive support through those dark times
- Physical health – build emotionally and physically
Our team of volunteers are here to help support you.
If you feel isolated, if you’re not sure who to talk to, if you’re struggling to focus on developing yourself and your business then come and talk with one of the Big Orange Heart team.
You’re not alone.
If you’ve been moved by the video featured on this page and would like to support Big Orange Heart in it efforts to help the WordPress community, please do reach out to us.
We would love to talk with you about ways in which you can get involved to develop Big Orange Heart.
Notes for Editors
Big Orange Heart is a registered charity promoting, supporting, advancing the education of and enabling positive physical and mental health for the WordPress community.
We do this through mentorship, events, training and counselling. We want to address the alarming survey result showing 64% of the respondents who work with products and services that power 30.7% of the top 10 million websites globally, regularly feel isolated in their Mental Health, Physical Health, Code Health, and Business Health. 1 in 4 of us will be directly affected. We know anecdotally and from other research that this is mirrored in other web and digital communities, independent and small agency creative practices, and is related to the modern working environments and pressures of running digital businesses.
Big Orange Heart and #PressForward are the first steps in a global effort to change this for the WordPress community. Enquiries to: [email protected] | +44(0)20 3322 1080 | Contact Us Page
The #PressForward video
The Big Orange Heart #PressForward video was the work of the community, if you would like to submit a video please head over to our community video page. Below you’ll find a copy of the script read by the following community members, we’re so grateful to each and every person who gave their time (in order of appearance):
Piccia Neri, Elliott Richmond, Kay Westrap, David Waumsley, Elliot Taylor, Imogen Allen, Robby McCullough, Paul Lacey, Steve Woody, Dan Maby, Dan Atrill & Nathan Wrigley
Video Script:
I’m a WordPress developer / designer / agency owner / educator / consultant / freelancer / content manager / marketer / contractor / engineer / implementer / user / [insert here].
We’ve built companies. We’ve developed technical solutions. We’ve started from scratch. We’ve designed to be inclusive. We’ve worked from coffee shops. We’ve supported clients.
We are the WordPress community.
We’ve hidden our fears. We’ve battled internally. We’ve hurt ones we love. We’ve put on a mask. We’ve questioned ourselves. We’ve not been open. We’ve struggled.
No one ever said it would be this hard.
We’ve learned new skills. We’ve developed as individuals. We’ve spoken out. We’ve built relationships. We’ve moved forward. We’ve overcome.
It’s a lie to think that you can’t achieve this.
As a member of the WordPress community, I’m speaking out. Isolation. Depression. Anxiety. Loneliness. Fear. Our communities mental health needs support.
Statistically 1 in 6 of us will experience work related mental health issues.
Because I’m self-employed. Because I’m a freelancer. Because I’m a remote worker.
Because I’m a solo business owner. This increases to 1 in 4 of us!
Help us #PressForward.
Big Orange Heart are supporting and promoting positive mental health within the WordPress community.
Now is the time to have an honest conversation about our mental health.
Join your local WordPress meetup. Attend, volunteer or support WordCamps.
I’m not alone. You’re not alone. At its core WordPress is the community.
Big Orange Heart