His Honour Anthony Russell QC, who presided over Sophie’s murder trial in 2008, passed away last summer and left a legacy of £5000 to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation in his will. When Sylvia died in 2022, we had some very thoughtful correspondence from Judge Russell, which included his memories of Sylvia and the trial, and which he gave us his permission to publish. Sylvia was forever grateful to Judge Russell for recognising Sophie’s murder as a hate crime and sentencing accordingly. He stated very clearly that no change in the law was needed to recognise alternative subculture hate crime and this recognition of an unmonitored strand of hate crime meant the world to Sylvia. Judge Russell’s legacy reflects his belief in the work that we do and we are honoured to have been remembered in this way.

There’s no more fitting way to end this than with the tribute Judge Russell wrote about Sylvia and we have included it again today. His personal qualities shine through in his writing. We owe him our thanks for so much. May he rest in peace.

We have HUGE news to share with you. We are delighted to tell you that we have been awarded a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund of £258,928. This funding will be spread over three years and will be used to tackle the main issues emerging from last year’s alternative subculture hate crime survey.

The survey delivered some shocking statistics:

· 73% of alternative subculture hate crime goes unreported

· 56% of respondents had been physically attacked

· 87% of respondents had been threatened or harassed

· 71% of respondents had been verbally abused

· 27% of respondents said that their experiences of hate crime had made them feel suicidal

The lottery bid was created in response to the survey and aims to deliver game-changing improvements for the alternative community with regard to their experiences of hate crime.

The project will improve signposting to hate crime reporting, explain the hate crime laws so people are empowered and better understand their rights, and improve the training that police and other justice agencies receive so that alternative subculture hate crime is recognised. This will also contribute to giving people who do report hate crime, a more satisfactory experience.

Part of the project is to tell the stories of alternative people, celebrating the culture, the music and the scene. It also aims to help people find community – particularly those who are isolated because of prejudice or intolerance. We can’t tell you how much this means to us and are so grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for supporting this vital work.

Also, thanks to you. Thank you to everyone who completed the hate crime survey, who share their stories with us at festivals and events, who phone and email after a hate crime to ask for support and honour us with their confidence. This is for all of you. We want you to feel that this is your project and is there to make life better for you. We will work with you so you can help shape this work and we will include multiple opportunities for you to get involved.

We can make positive change together.

Let us Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance, Everywhere. #WeAreSophie #NationalLotteryCommunityFund

You can read the findings of the full Alternative Subculture Hate Crime Survey and read the Sophie Lancaster Foundation Commentary, which outlines the background to the survey and our commitment to do all we can to change the situation, here:

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation is proud to launch another FREE National Hate Crime Awareness Week school resource!

National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2024 takes place from the 12th to 19th October, starting a national campaign to bring people together across the UK to advocate against all forms of hate crime and make communities a safer place to be.

The resource contains an assembly presentation and accompanying brochure for both Primary and Secondary schools, covering all angles of hate crime, hate incidents, reporting hate and hateful behaviours in and around school. Please feel free to download and if you do use our resource, please let us know by using the hashtag #WeAreSophie

Attending Bloodstock this year? Well, thanks to Darren from Metal Thread, we have another incredible, bespoke SOPHIE battle jacket to give away in our raffle!

We are so grateful for Darren’s support and when we were told about the jackets earlier this year we were very excited to receive them… but even we didn’t expect just how beautiful they would be! The time, effort and love that’s gone into creating them, and the Sophie patch on the back, is testament to the incredible community we’re so proud to be part of.

The second jacket will be a raffle prize at Bloodstock Festival, so make sure you come over to the tent, say hello, and get your tickets!

Thanks again to Darren for all your hard work 🖤

You can read more about Metal Thread on their website: https://metalthread.uk/ and we implore you to read the wonderful words they’ve written about the Foundation on their “Metal Gives Back” page.

#wearesophie

We’ve just launched our new range of merchandise, and it’s all available to pre-order from our online store now – until the 2nd June.

This exciting new range includes a new gradient for the Weirdo Mosher Freak tees, hoodies and vests, and also a whole new range for 2024, that features the S.O.P.H.I.E logo in red on black. What really sets of the hoodie in this new selection is our motto, “stamp out prejudice, hatred and intolerance everywhere,” that’s printed on the sleeve.

After the popularity of our gradient Weirdo Mosher Freak range last year, we’ve decided to bring it back for 2024. This time however, with a few updates! The first of which is an updated colourway, turquoise into purple, the second is an updated chest print; our WMF branding with The Sophie Lancaster Foundation written in a circle around it.

I’m sure you’ll agree it’s really eye-catching, and we can’t wait for you to see it in person!

To complete the new range of red-on-black merchandise, there’s also a new t-shirt, a new vest and a brand new slouch beanie! The beanie is an extra comfy fit with the S.O.P.H.I.E logo embroidered on the front.

Take a look!

All of this merchandise will be available at Download Festival and Bloodstock Festival this year. Shipping for the pre-orders will begin on the 12 June 2024. We would like to thank you all in advance for you support, whether you show that through a pre-order or in-person at a festival, it means the world to us and allows us to continue our vital work.

To pre-order the new merchandise, please visit: https://sophielancasterfoundation.backstreetmerch.com/

#wearesophie

We often receive many awesome photos of our lovely supporters from all over the world, wearing our merchandise and wristbands. So, we thought it would be a great chance to show the world what an incredible, powerful and diverse community this is by highlighting a photograph each week 🖤😍 Now… we are really tempted, as a play on our Weirdo Mosher Freak range, to call it “Freak Of The Week”… do we have any objections (because we think it’s brilliant 😂)?

Anyway, send in your snaps! Let’s see those tees, hoodies, vests, hats, all of it 🙋🏻‍♀️ #wearesophie

By sending us a photo, you’re giving permission for us to share it on our social media platforms. Please send your photos to our Facebook page as a comment on the corresponding post.

Greater Manchester Hate Crime Awareness Week takes place from the 5th to the 9th of February is recognised each year by the ten boroughs that make up the Greater Manchester County, promoting a message of a county that is ‘Too Great for Hate’. Manchester is one of the most diverse cities in the UK with almost 200 languages spoken in the city; it is truly multi-ethnic, multi-faith, multicultural and multilingual. However, in 2023, 10,424 hate crimes were reported across all boroughs in the Greater Manchester County and across all five strands of hate. Though this has fallen by 367 from 2022, the number of hate crimes being committed is 10,424 too many. Many hate crimes still go unreported and hate crimes against alternative subcultures are not recorded within those figures. It is time to take a stand against hate crime in Greater Manchester.

The secondary Greater Manchester Hate Crime Awareness Week resource contains a brochure and presentation covering the strands of hate, unmonitored strands, the impact of hate and how we can all make a stand. Please feel free to download and if you do use our resource, please let us know by using the hashtag #WeAreSophie

Make a cup of tea and settle down as this isn’t going to be a quick read! It seems a good time to reflect on our year at The Sophie Lancaster Foundation 🖤

After losing Sylvia in 2022 your outpouring of support and solidarity with our mission absolutely blew us away. We are in such a divided world, and sadly the need for tolerance and inclusion is more needed than ever. We may have different faiths or no faith, different politics, different looks, like different music or have different interests, but the one thing that unites all of our supporters is the fervent belief we have the right to be ourselves. To have the right to be ourselves also dictates the need to respect other people and their choices. There may be many conversations we need to have, but to get anywhere, we have to take the hatred out of those conversations.

We have had an incredible 2023. We launched the results of the alternative subculture hate crime survey last month. For the first time we have empirical data which shows the dreadful effects of hate crime on alternative people. This will have a huge impact on our work and direction in 2024. Our 2023 festival programme was the most successful in our history and we met more people and sold more merchandise than ever before. This keeps us going as a Foundation, so thank you for your support. We launched free educational packs online as we know how schools are struggling for resources and input on these issues, and our anti bullying and hate crime resources were brilliantly received. They were downloaded by 36 educational settings nationwide and have a potential reach of 18,000 students. Every young person who has their mind changed about people who are different to them, or has their empathy level increased, has the potential to make a difference to someone’s life. We launched the Profound Pound in April this year, where supporters can donate a pound to help us continue to make a difference and we managed to raise £3048. We know how hard it is for many of you right now and we are so grateful for your support.

The most important part of this post is to thank you. Thank you to the beautiful alternative community and to all of you who stand by our side. We could not achieve anything without you. Thank you for your collaboration, your festivals, your fundraisers, for sharing your stories, for your belief in us. Sylvia always said we have the best supporters in the world. We truly do. Thank you for making 2023 an unforgettable year and we look forward to what comes next.

Everything we do, starts and ends with Sophie. She will continue to inspire us and direct our work. Thank you to you all, for the part you play in ensuring her legacy. Together we are Sophie.

With love and thanks,

Alison, Dena, Elloise and Kyle x

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Make A Noise festival this year, it was a real success.

All the bands and contributors alike were absolutely fantastic, and it was so lovely to see the community come together and remember Sophie’s birthday.

We started proceedings with a set from Light The Cannons, an alternative rock band from Germany. Following their set we had Second Cities from the UK, then Hateful Chains from Finland, messages from supporters including Robin Ince, short stories from author Tracey M Carvill and then to finish the night, Swedish goth-rockers, Dark Side Cowboys.

We were also able to raise £465 which is incredible – so thank you, everyone.

Anti-Bullying Week takes place from the 13th to 17th November 2023, organised in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Too often, bullying is dismissed as banter, with bystanders staying silent about the bullying behaviour that takes place and the hurt it causes. It is time to make a noise, take a stand and be the change to stop bullying in our schools. Let’s make some noise about bullying!

Both the Primary and Secondary resources contain an assembly presentation and accompanying brochure, covering bullying behaviour, cyber-bullying and how to be an upstander. Please feel free to download and if you do use our resource, please let us know by using the hashtag #antibullyingweek

Download the resources by filling out the quick form below. Once completed, options to download the primary and secondary school resources will appear.