£675k raised so far. Pledges and Yarrows closing 5pm today.
More details below.

A short message from James' Place & The October Club.

A message from the Chairman

Watch the James’ Place Video

Thank you to our Sponsors

Get updates from The October Club

James’ Place

We are proud to announce that this year’s charity partner is James’ Place, which offers life-saving support to men in suicidal crisis from their existing centre in Liverpool.

Transformational Project

Funds raised by The October Club 2020 will be used to build a centre in Hackney, servicing the East End, City and wider London area; thus transforming their reach and impact.

The first virtual October Club!

This year we ran a virtual event for the first time, on Thursday 8th October. Hundreds of people joined to hear about the work of James’ Place, and what to do if you are feeling suicidal or are worried that a friend or colleague may be. Request a playback using the link below.

Get in touch about the October Club 2020

James' Place Video

A message from Henry Knapman, Chairman of The October Club

2020 has been a year requiring flexibility and adaptability from everybody and the October Club is no exception: In March our charity selection process moved virtual, we missed our usual run of events in June at the House of Commons and at Ascot in July and sadly our annual dinner for 400 at the Savoy can’t take place for the first time in 33 years.

So this year in particular we are very grateful to our loyal sponsors, including those who chose to remain anonymous, for their patience and continued support. 2020 will hopefully be a one-off and so we appreciate the continued faith our supporters put in our philosophy of funding transformational change in small UK charities and in our rigorous and open selection process.

The current and future challenges from the Coronavirus pandemic were uppermost in our mind as we narrowed down this year’s applicants and in James’ Place we have a worthy charity to present to you for 2020.

ONS data released in September showed that male suicide is, tragically, a growing problem in the UK. The suicide rate for men in England and Wales last year was the highest for two decades particularly amongst middle aged men.

James’ Place has had demonstrable success in their Liverpool facility in helping men in suicidal crisis and we are delighted to fund the expansion of their offering, starting with a new therapy centre just north of the City in Hackney. This will allow them to bring their tried-and-tested programmes to a new part of the country and will hopefully signal the start of a nationwide expansion programme.

Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic on mental wellbeing, employment and the economy is likely to mean James’ Place’s services are even more relevant and in-demand as we look forward to 2021 and beyond. Your funding will allow us to accelerate James’ Place’s reach and could not come at a more important time.

Thank you again for your support and I look forward to a return to a normal October Club year in 2021.