Collaborate Out Loud CIC has been working with Bury Council and GMHSCP to develop a community led engagement campaign to raise awareness in a supportive way about the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. This work has used the principles of community engagement and craftivism to develop the #BonnetToppers Campaign..
In essence, Bonnet Toppers is a campaign that is based on the idea of creating simple, beautiful and hand made objects (#BonnetToppers) that can be placed into the world to start conversations. They’re cute, simple and noticeable. Most of all their oversized tags tells people what they’re about and how they can find out more/get involved.
The key message underpinning this work is ‘there is no safe time or amount of alcohol to drink whilst pregnant’. Whilst developing this campaign we were surprised how unclear the advice is that women are often given and how many myths there are to bust. This isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s simply about raising awareness around the risks, so that people can make informed choices.
Our community pack tells you all the different ways you can get involved including:
- Key facts about drinking in pregnancy
- How to make a #BonnetTopper
- How to share your #BonnetTopper with the world
- Tips and posts to get going with sharing on social media
- How to get a group together to start a local maker group
The short video below shows you step by step how to make a #BonnetTopper
And these simple instructions give you a written guide to making your very own #BonnetTopper
For more information please email hello@collaboateOutLoud.org or visit #BonnetToppers on Instagram and Twitter.