Talking to Jack and Ellan this week about mental health and wellbeing in the events industry, is founder and CEO of EventWell, Helen Moon (and her puppy, Minnie).
What started out as a week-long campaign, very quickly turned into a full-time job for Helen. With 25 years under her belt as an event professional, she is acutely aware of the fallout that can be caused by the long hours and the pressure to get everything “perfect”. So in 2019 she set up the social enterprise, EventWell, and now has over 50 volunteers offering a wide range of support services to those working in events.
Helen tells us about how she “fell into events by accident” and has never looked back, soaking up every opportunity to be motivated and inspired and tackling every challenge head on. Accepting that something will always go wrong at an event (“it’s what shapes you as an event organiser”), she keep us laughing with stories of volunteering at the 2015 Brit Awards and what can go wrong when the Chef decides to serve chocolate mousse in a mug at a celebrity wedding.
A keen advocate of “work hard, REST hard – the play will take care of itself”, she believes “if you choose to work in events, it’s the best career you’ll ever have” but you must remember to take care of yourself. We could not agree more.
