Benefit + Awareness Month

Blue Sunday: the Tea Party for M.E.

One of the beloved community celebrations for the ME community is ‘Blue Sunday’, also known as the ‘Tea party for M.E.’ Falling on the Sunday after May 12th International Awareness Day, the idea behind it is simple: help make Awareness events accessible for as many people as possible, including members of the chronic illness community who are homebound or bedbound.

How did Blue Sunday start?

Blue Sunday originated in 2012, when the UK’s Anna Redshaw was seeking a way to celebrate her birthday while being severely ill with ME. Unable to mark the occasion as she had in the past, she asked family and friends to hold a virtual birthday party by posting photos and videos of themselves raising mugs of tea and enjoying cake. As she explained, “It felt so wonderful to feel connected with my loved ones when I was unable to leave the house or have any visitors.”

As May Awareness Month approached, Anna was trying to think of a way to mark the occasion, when many fundraising efforts (such as marathons) were inaccessible to people like her. She remembered her birthday party – and thus, Blue Sunday was born. From its humble origins, it has grown to become an annual event celebrated worldwide, which welcomes and connects many people who would otherwise be left out of many social events. So far, it has raised over £170,000 for ME charities around the world.

Discover the story behind Blue Sunday on ‘M.E. myself and I’.

There are three ways to participate:

1: Join a digital tea party on Zoom

Join the ME | FM Society of BC and Opera Mariposa for a digital community gathering to honour Blue Sunday, hosted by Society board member Sophie. Bring your favourite tea and a snack – and if you can, donate what you’d typically spend on a pot of tea and a slice of cake in a café. Your contributions will help fund crucial advocacy and support for the ME/CFS, Long Covid and fibromyalgia communities.

Allies are welcome. You do not need to have ME/CFS, Long Covid, or fibromyalgia to join in.

When: Sunday, May 17 at 1 pm Pacific Time / 4 pm Eastern Time
Where: Online on Zoom (registration required)

Automatic captioning enabled (attendees can switch this on or off – here’s how)
Run time 1 hour; includes rest break
Attendees are welcome to have cameras on or off
Attendees are welcome to communicate by speaking or via the written “chat” function, or to just quietly coexist
Photos shared on social media, for asynchronous participation
Access needs can be shared during registration. If you have further questions, please contact humanresources@mefm.bc.ca

2: Join in worldwide on socials

People around the world will be joining in to have a cup of tea for a cause:

Wear something blue (or use some blue decor – get creative!)
Dig out some cups and saucers, or a favourite mug
Bake or buy a favourite treat
Post photos of your home tea party setup to social media with the hashtags #TeaPartyForME2026 and #BlueSunday2026. If you want to enter our May prize draw, add #MariposaBlueSunday as well on Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky!
If you can, donate the price you’d pay at a cafe to our charity fundraiser.
Connect with others online who are doing the same – like, comment and share Blue Sunday posts!

Access info: Adapt any steps to make participation more accessible. Donating is appreciated but not required – raising awareness helps as well!

DONATE NOW ENTER TO WIN

3: Nab exclusive Blue Sunday merch

Make sure your tea party setup is on-theme with exclusive Blue Sunday mugs, cushions and more, featuring illustrations by chronically ill artists Rana and Grae Salisbury. 100% of proceeds support the ME | FM Society of BC!

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