Defected is proud to announce a new fundraising partnership with UK housing and homelessness charity Shelter. Beginning in July 2023, the 12 month-long campaign will involve a range of fundraising activities, galvanising our dance music community to support people at risk of homelessness and join Shelter’s movement for change.
Shelter exists to defend the right to a safe home and fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. It does this by providing emergency advice and support and by campaigning for lasting change. Shelter believes that home is everything.
In England, one household becomes homeless every four minutes with 1.2 million households currently on the social housing waiting list. The housing emergency disproportionately affects single mothers and individuals from the LGBTQI+ and Black communities, where gay and lesbian people are twice as likely to be discriminated against and Black people are 70% more likely to be impacted by the housing crisis. Keen to bring attention to these concerning statistics, we are proud to support Shelter and this important issue.
“Every day our frontline services see the devastating impact the housing emergency is having right across society. We’re delighted that Defected are joining us in our fight for home, harnessing the power of its community to help raise vital funds and much needed awareness. Their support will help us continue to be there for anyone facing bad housing and homelessness, and call for real change.” - Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter
Supporting the charity in their mission, over the next year Defected will be mobilising its staff through individual fundraising activities, calling on its community of fans to donate, and amplifying the voices of artists wishing to raise awareness in their own words. Planned activity includes among other things a collaborative line of merchandise with proceeds going to Shelter, takeovers on Defected Radio with the charity’s experts to discuss the realities of the housing crisis, ticketed events showcasing our female and LGBTQ+ talent (two groups disproportionately affected by homelessness) with proceeds going to Shelter, and Defected’s own staff volunteering and fundraising.
Also, in November 2023 Defected’s CEO Wez Saunders will be hosting an exclusive auction night and gala at BAFTA in London’s West End. Auction items will all be open to bids online ahead of the event and will include a holiday on a private island, Michelin starred dining, 5* hotel stays, arena tour tickets and much more. Performances from special guests on the night will be announced soon.
With Wez Saunders at the helm, Defected has doubled down on its charity work in recent years, raising over £100,000 for MIND, $1.2M for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Wez having personally raised over £265,000 for leukaemia charities over the years. He is also a board member for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and set up a Defected partnership with non-profit Bridges For Music in South Africa. Under his leadership Defected will continue to harness dance music’s power to unite and uplift, to raise money for worthy causes and to call on those who can to give, in line with this ethos.
“Hearing the worrying statistics around homelessness in the UK, especially how it affects certain groups, has been a big personal motivator for partnering with Shelter. Defected has a far-reaching and exceptionally engaged community which means we have a unique position for raising awareness and addressing causes that most likely have affected some of those people. Combine that with the power of dance music and its ability to unite people, and I hope that we can support Shelter with their work in a significant way.” - Wez Saunders, CEO Defected Records
For more information on Shelter’s work and how to donate visit shelter.org.uk. Our work with Shelter will be documented via defected.com & Defected’s social channels.
