WP&UP is striving to bring light to the complex world of mental health within the WordPress community. As a registered charity and nonprofit organization, WP&UP seeks to support and promote positive mental health within the WordPress community by bringing awareness to the connection between mental health and isolation. WP&UP encourages people to #pressforward by providing holistic support through counseling services, community support and 1:1 help with trained professionals.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us Dan, we’re so excited to hear more about your organization. What is WP&UP and how did you get started?
“WP&Up is a registered nonprofit and our mission is to promote mental health in the WordPress community. Within the community, the work that we do is often done by individuals who don’t have the opportunity to interact with other people on a regular basis. That isolation can be particularly challenging from a mental health perspective. In May 2017, we ran a survey to gather more insight on the state of mental health within the community. We had over 1200 submissions where 56% cited that they worked alone and then 47% stated that their work environment gave them anxiety.”
Wow, you had a very large response to help gain insight into the community. Were there any survey results that concerned you?
We released a video in 2017 that was supposed to spark a conversation about mental health. It actually caused an explosion of people saying “I need help,” and “We need to talk.” We understood the sense of urgency and quickly started working to do something even as a non registered entity. It began by delivering companionship and creating a system for people to have those conversations. We offered around 3.5 thousand hours of support in those first 12 months all fully unfunded.”
It speaks volumes that you understood the sense of urgency and took immediate action to help the community, how would you describe the unique work environment of community members?
It’s definitely a stark contrast between working alone and working in an environment where you get human interaction. When did you start receiving support to grow your services?
We couldn’t agree more, a working relationship that reflects mutual ideals and values is crucial for longevity and success in business. What is the cost of sponsorship?
“An annual sponsorship would cost £75,000 ( $96,000) which is our top-level sponsorship package. This level offers exposure across all our activities, including every live event (we’ve had over 6,500 attendees to-date), the #PressForward Podcast, our mentorship program, training material, support program, and many other benefits. We’ve also been working on additional levels, to enable more companies from the community to take part. Our community-level sponsorship plans are about to be released.”
That sounds awesome, we can’t wait to see the expansion of WP&UP. WP&UP is currently based in London, what are your future plans for expansion?
You have definitely hit the ground running and WP&UP is making waves within the community. How has your involvement with the WordCamp community impacted WP&UP?
Mental health isn’t widely discussed in such an open manner. Do you think that you are filling a void in the community?
We couldn’t agree more, this is a vital and important service that people in and outside of the community can benefit from. Since people remain at the heart of your platform, what does the word community mean to you?
Your love for the community really shines through in this organization. What tips would you give someone struggling with mental health?
If a person doesn’t have a trusted source to communicate to and wants to seek assistance through WP&UP, what is the process for contacting you?
That’s a great example that shows how WP&UP is unique and specific to the WordPress community! Can you tell us more about the WP&UP Health Hubs?
“The WP&UP Health Hubs consists of mental, physical, business, and skills health. There is also a Mental Health Hub for the individuals that have a pre-existing mental health-related illness and we have dedicated staff and specific support to promote recovery and long term wellbeing. A lot of what we’re doing is partnering with existing services so we’re not reinventing the wheel.”
Collaboration and partnership are essential when you are covering such a complex topic like mental health. Social media is a vital communication tool for the WordPress community, and we know you use a branded hashtag. What does #pressforward mean to you?
“It’s similar to the name WP&UP, together we can press forward. We can move this, it’s a positive connotation. I would like to see #pressforward impacting the lives of 100,000 individuals. Unfortunately, it’s a commonly used hashtag, but WP&UP is something we’re launching into the WordPress community because we love and support this unique group of people even though our services aren’t WordPress specific. There is a long term outlook to deliver a movement outside of the WordPress community and space.”
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us Dan, we look forward to seeing WP&UP continue to make an impact within the WordPress community!
If you’d like to help Bluehost support WP&UP, join us in retweeting on Giving Tuesday and we will give $1 per retweet to help their cause.
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