We Get It’s first year: How did it all come about?

You know when you have a vision and it actually becomes a reality? Here’s the story of how We Get It was born.

Cancer is shit for anyone who has been diagnosed. All you think about is getting to your last chemo or radiotherapy session. You can’t wait to finish the treatment and surgery that has disrupted your usual life for so long. But when that day comes, when they say “see you in six months for a checkup” and you walk out of the hospital door with no further support from the hospital… That’s when you suddenly realise life will never be the same again. It’s time to find a new normal.

In January 2017 I was given that message after my treatment for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Six rounds of poison later, and minus my spleen, I was waved off with “see you in six months, good luck, any problems, just give us a ring”. Part of me was ready to just get on, and part of me was shit scared. I just wanted to meet people my own age and say, hey, this is pretty shit, right? How are you coping? What exercise can you do? Have you gone back to work? I had endless questions, but basically I just wanted some help and support from people who understood what I was feeling.

I researched support groups in Bath – one for breast cancer and one for gynae cancer. I had blood cancer, so I didn’t fit into either. That’s when I thought I would create my own support group for women with any cancer called Eat Move Glow. I organised a meetup each month and created Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Each meetup had a different theme around nutrition, movement and wellbeing. I invited local practitioners in Bath, who provided things like nutrition, yoga or tai chi sessions for free.

This was great, but I really wanted to support more people affected by cancer and needed help to get the word out there. I wanted to shout “We’re here! Come and hang out with us if, like me, you feel lonely, frustrated, angry or sad after treatment.”

Then I received an email about a Good for Nothing event. They were offering the opportunity to do a three-minute pitch at Boston Tea Party on who you were and why you needed help. If you won, you’d received free support from people in Bath who wanted to give something back to the community. What a great idea and concept. (Do check out Good for Nothing – a global volunteering initiative that connects skilled people with those who need them.) 

On the pitch night, I was nervous because the room was packed and I didn’t know anyone. There were ten amazing projects pitching and I was ninth. A member of the GFN team introduced you and another GFN member sat at the front of the audience with a timer. Everyone else who pitched had notes. I decided not to use notes, as I knew exactly what I had to say.

Everyone was speaking really quickly in their pitches, so I decided to do the opposite, speaking slowly and pausing. I finished my pitch and people were allowed to ask questions, like “Why are you doing this?”. “Because I don’t want people to feel alone during or after cancer treatment, like I did” was my reply.

The audience members placed stickers on the posters of the projects they thought should win. I sat in my chair and decided not to walk around and analyse my performance too much. Robin Worrall from Rednine came straight over, handed me his business card and said “I want to help you and provide you with what you need – plus I like your shoes.” Robin understood my message immediately and offered to provide his branding services, skills, time and support for free. This really was the start of We Get It.

I was blown away to hear that my pitch had won. Other people came up to me and gave me their business cards and said how much they wanted to help. The Bath community is awesome, but actually, massive thanks go to the Good for Nothing team who put all of this together for free and helped me on my way.

Next, Good for Nothing put on a gig night for me, encouraging people to do good in their hood and rallying vital support for my project. I do seriously love Bath because around 60 people turned up to listen, give advice, offer feedback and give up their time for free.

Our group aim was to brainstorm ideas to support and empower more local people dealing with cancer. There were four break-off groups brainstorming and jotting down ideas on flipcharts. Each group fed back and shared their ideas. If you were one of those people who voted for me or attended the multiple gig nights, thank you so much for your help. I didn’t get a chance to say thanks to everyone. Your emails, ideas, business cards, contacts and coffee catch-ups really did mean the world to me. 

That event was where I met Lara, now my copywriter, James from Volley Design and Sal who does social media consultancy. We created a smaller sub committee of people who were willing to give up their time to work on the cause. Sue Judge and Jo Bridger, who were there from my first Eat Move Glow meetups, continued to support me all the way through.

But how did Eat Move Glow become We Get It? Robin and I met over many lunches at BTP. He said I’d need a new name and brand if I wanted to help more people affected by cancer. Eat Move Glow wasn’t relating to men, and they of course need help too. Robin asked how I felt. What was my pain or anger about? I was frustrated because I couldn’t meet people who understood how I felt. I love my family and friends, but they didn’t get it. And with those words, We Get It was created. 

The rest of the process took a year of meetings organised by Good for Nothing at Dan’s office, with lovely snacks from Bex and crew. We had a smaller group now working really hard on the vision. James and Robin worked tirelessly on all things brand and design. We met with a really cool lady called Kendra Futcher who gave input into our vision and voice – thank you, Kendra. Then Sarah Baker, a Bath influencer and social media guru, joined our team to help us with the next massive step…the launch of We Get It.

For our launch, the GFN crew organised a gig night at BTP in September 2018 to showcase what we had achieved and encourage other people to offer their skills to Good for Nothing projects. We arrived with our We Get It Tshirts, badges and postcards, ready to change the world. 

I’m on a mission to help people dealing with cancer in Bath. After all, one in two of us will be affected by cancer at some point in our lives, and we all want to live as long and as healthily as we can. Join us or let people know we are here.

This blog post is dedicated to the Good for Nothing crew: Bex, Beckii, Evva, Jess, John, John, Steve and Yasmin. You supported me, listened to me and connected me to the creators of Bath who have made We Get It a reality. Thank you so much for making all of this happen. 

Laura x