31 August 2020

Sending love from De Beauvoir across the globe

De Beauvoir resident 91-year-old Joan Miller has been featured on billboards, hoardings and bus shelters across the globe alongside her daughter Alison Hall, as part of an international campaign to share love and support.

As part of a campaign to help unite communities all over the world, Alison submitted a photograph of herself and Joan to #SendingLove, which was shown as far as California and Auckland, as well as closer to home in London.

Alison explained: “A friend of ours runs the agency which launched the campaign and when I heard about it, I thought it was a really exciting project to be part of.

“The photograph has to include a heart-hand symbol but can be anything you like apart from that. You then select your preferred countries - anywhere from Brixton to Brisbane!

Alison Hall & Joan Miller

 

“We selected the USA, New Zealand, Australia and the UK and our photograph has been displayed on the California Coast, Miami, Auckland, Melbourne and London. We’ve got family in the USA and Australia, and friends in New Zealand, as well as friends and family here in London, so it made perfect sense to pick these countries. It was exciting to be right across the globe too!

“Our picture was actually taken last year, but I thought that sitting and sharing a quiet cuppa with your Mum in the sunshine is something many people will relate to and something so simple that’s been so missed during the lockdown.”

Participants receive photographs showing their image in-situ, which surprised Joan. “She was totally bowled over by it,” Alison said. “She wanted to go and see the London billboard right away!

“Mum’s done quite a lot in her life, but said that having her photo displayed across the world was another feather in her cap.”

Joan has been a tenant of the Benyon Estate for over 70 years. She was brought up in Limehouse and, after being evacuated in 1939, Joan returned to De Beauvoir Town in 1945, taking on a lease on Englefield Road. 

She moved into her current home in De Beauvoir Town in 1972 and has been there ever since.

“She loves it here,” Alison said. “She’s got all her friends here and really gets involved with as much as she can in the community.

“When we were unable to come and visit during the lockdown, I contacted the De Beauvoir Association to see what support they could provide. Right away the team said that they knew Joan. I had no idea Mum was so well known in the area!

“Two volunteers for the Association, Max and his partner Alex, have generously been doing her shopping, running errands and making sure she’s okay, which is wonderful.”

The #SendingLove campaign saw people across the globe featured on digital displays worldwide. Facilitated by The World Out of Home Organization and its member organisations, over 70 media owners across 153 cities donated advertising space making it the biggest campaign of its kind.

As well as promoting messages of love during the coronavirus pandemic, those who took part in the campaign were also invited to make an optional donation to the Global Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The campaign was created by Grand Visual and launched by Talon.