Tutu for Tutu Day

22 02 2022

Celebrating community, connectivity and compassion

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little

bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”

What is Tutu for Tutu?

We want people all over the UK to host their own Tutu for Tutu event with donations raised on the day made to the Tutu Foundation UK. The official date is Tuesday 22 February but your event can be held any time. From a group of colleagues wearing a tutu to work, to a sea swim wearing tutus, to baking a tutu- or Tutu- themed cake, you can hold your fundraiser however you like.

How you can get involved

We’d love you and your friends to don a tutu for Tutu, but if you’d rather not wear a dancing skirt, just do what you want to do to raise money. No matter how big or small your fundraising event, we’d be honoured to have you join us.

How did it all begin?

On hearing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s passing, a group of friends from Bath, UK, came up with the concept of ‘Tutu for Tutu Day on Tuesday 22 02 2022’ to celebrate his life and raise funds for The Tutu Foundation UK.

The group of 15 friends have known and supported one another for years, and love to get together and enjoy themselves. With the world feeling increasingly divided, the group felt that that the Archbishop’s message of tolerance, reconciliation and hope is needed more than ever. But they also wanted to honour the Arch’s sense of fun!

It is hoped that by launching this campaign, pockets of people across the UK (and in time beyond) will host their own gatherings and raise funds for the Foundation, which works to prevent and resolve conflict, to help people build peaceful communities across the UK by providing facilitation and mediation services, based on the principles of Ubuntu.

To coin the Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself: ‘Do your little bits of good where you are, it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world’

What is the Tutu Foundation UK? Where will your money be going?

The TFUK’s mission is to prevent & resolve conflict, to help people build peaceful communities across the UK, by providing facilitation and mediation services based on the principles of Ubuntu.

“We believe that a person is a person through another person, that my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanise you, I inexorably dehumanise myself.“

The TUTU foundation is set up to use and promote the above philosophy particularly with young people involved in gang violence and in divided communities.

The Tutu foundation run projects to support the Tutu legacy, empowering individuals to achieve more. Your contributions support the running of these projects.

Host your event and fundraiser

Every Tutu for Tutu event no matter how big or small will make a huge difference to the Tutu Foundation UK’s fundraising efforts.

Check out our list of fundraising ideas below but feel free to come up with what works best for you and your group. And don’t forget to check for invites that you can print out to get your event going. And don’t worry if you can’t actually host your get-together on 22-02-22. Again, whenever suits you!

When you’ve been through our list of suggestions or come up with your own great fundraising idea, you can either just invite everyone by word of mouth and ask for a suggested donation on taking part, or ask for sponsorship.

Please follow us on Instagram and TAG us in your photos #TutuForTutu

Stay safe

Keep checking for any Government guidelines for your social distancing in your area. Make sure to have plenty of space and easy access.

Fundraising ideas

Get together with friends wearing tutus to a choreographed dance
Create or decorate a tutu of your own or maybe make a Tutu for a friend, a colleague or a pet?
Wear a tutu to work
Design a tutu for somebody – a friend or a pet perhaps?
Have tea for two for Tutu/tea for Tutu
Bake a tutu themed cake
Bake cupcakes with edible tutu toppers
Hold a tutu-themed drawing class
Wear a tutu to work day
Have a tutu making party
Just get together and wear a tutu!
Dare your friends and family – wear a tutu to pop to the shops/get on the bus/take the dog for a walk
Get your sports club involved – eg have a footy match wearing tutus/go biking or paddleboarding wearing tutus, play pétanque wearing tutus, get everyone in your walking or running club to wear tutus
Hold a kitchen tutu disco
Paint tutus on your faces
Do a ballet class wearing tutus – crazy huh!

Don’t forget many of these events can be sponsored, eg organise a sponsored dance/Zumba/aerobics class, ask for sponsorship for number of miles run wearing a tutu, number of trampoline jumps wearing a tutu, and so on. The list is endless.

And of course, if you don’t feel in the mood to wear a tutu or bake a tutu- or Tutu-themed cake, you can fundraise in whatever way suits you!