Like clap for carers, Covid Memorial Day is an idea – not an organisation or a campaign. It originated with journalist Stefan Simanowitz and friends who felt there was a need for a moment of reflection and remembrance. People are putting pictures of candles in their windows; similar to the rainbows that appeared in support of NHS and health-care workers. Please join them on this special day.
What is Covid Memorial Day?
.
A day to remember those we have lost, six months since the UK’s first coronavirus death.
On 5th March 2020, the BBC reported that a 70-year-old woman had become the first Briton to die of COVID-19. She would not be the last. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported in June that excess deaths in England and Wales reached 65,000. These deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 both directly and indirectly.
On 5th September — 6 months and tens of thousands of lives – on we will take a moment to come together to remember & mourn those we have lost.
There will be candlelit vigils and socially distanced services of remembrance around the country. People are putting pictures of candles in their windows — similar to the rainbows that appeared in windows in support of NHS and health-care workers.
Please show your support for the loved ones we lost as a nation and give your own gesture of support on Saturday 5th September at 8 p.m.
“Over the six months since that first death was reported, our country has faced a huge amount of loss and yet we had few opportunities to grieve. The aim of Covid Memorial Day is to give words to our sorry and allow ourselves to feel the pain”
Stefan Simanowitz, Covid Memorial Day
Who is organising Covid Memorial Day?
.
We at the Covid19 Memorial Forest Fund fully support this idea and are working in partnership with Covid Memorial Day (@CovidMemoryDay) and NHS Support group ‘Help Us Help Them’ (https://www.helpthemhelpus.co.uk/) to organise and promote the day.
Services & Vigils
.
There will be candlelit vigils and socially distanced services of remembrance around the country, held after sundown in cities, towns and villages. Support is being provided to faith groups, community groups and bereaved families up and down the country to arrange their own events.
The main service will be held at Newington Green Unitarian Church on the 5th September at 5pm, followed by a candlelit vigil in Trafalgar Square, North Terrace at 8pm.
Please join us at both the service and vigil, these are a non-political event to remember loved ones who have been lost and everyone is welcome. The events are intended for anyone who wants to take part in this collective moment of mourning.
What you can do to mark the day
.
Please show your support so that we can remember and heal together as a nation. You can show your support by any of the following:
1. Attend or organise a service or vigil if you can.
2. Post your own pictures of Candles in your windows, in the same way, you posted pictures of rainbows.
3. Light a candle at 8 p.m. on Saturday 5th and place this in your window to mark the hour. But be safe of course, we don’t want to make the fire service busy 🙂
Donations
.
Everything is being done on an entirely voluntary basis. Anyone wishing to donate can visit the Covid19 Memorial Forest Fund’s donation page or Help Them Help Us website.
“Whilst Covid Memorial Day is bound to live long in our hearts, we also want to leave a more permanent memorial. That is why the Covid19 Memorial Forest Fund will plant a Forest of Memories which will be a symbol of rejuvenation and growth once we start to recover fully from the impact of Covid-19.”
Salmaan Nasser, Covid19 Memorial Forest Fund
The 5th September is one day, but with your help we can also create lasting tributes and memorials.
Addressing collective grief on International Covid Memorial Day