SICK takes part in Musikhjälpen!

Musikhjälpen is a radio and TV campaign in Sweden that takes place in December every year, with the aim to raise money for a cause. This time attention is paid to that cause: "No one should have to die of hunger". For two years now, SICK has contributed with its own “SICK-bössa” thanks to employee initiative. This year, the SICK office in Linköping baked and shared two new fikas every day, collecting over 7500SEK in total! Emma Törning and Emma Löwbeer who coordinated this team effort with great support from our fantastic IT-team, so we asked them to tell us more about it!

Could you explain what Musikhjälpen for someone who might not be familiar with it?

Emma T. Musikhjälpen literally means “Music helps”. It is a TV show and a charity initiative that takes place every year in Sweden. Each year it focuses on a different cause. During a week, three celebrities stay in a glass box and are livestreamed 24h/7. In that period, anyone can call in a special number and ask for a song to be played against a donation.

What is this year’s cause?

Emma T. In 2023, it is dedicated to “No one should die of hunger.”

How does SICK participate to it?

Emma L. Anyone can start a collect during Musikhjälpen, so we created one for SICK. We have a webpage with a QR code directing to the donation page. Anyone can contribute any amount they wish. The money goes directly to Musikhjälpen, so we do not need to be an intermediary. We asked volunteers to bake fika during that week, which people can take in exchange for a donation of their choice. During the working week 11/12 – 15/12, Musikhjälpen was shown in the lounge during lunch time. During the lunch times, fika were also offered at self-cost price. The money we pay for fika went straight into our SICK-bössa.

When did this start and who started it? 

Emma T. Last year was the first year so it is only the second time we do it at SICK! Last year it was  Andreas Öberg and me who organized it.

Emma L. Andreas is a big fan of Musikhjälpen. It is a good concept because everyone knows about it. And it is very easy to donate any amount. He was very excited, so it started the impulse!

How does it work?

Emma T. We have a baking schedule, were volunteers bake. Anyone who wanted to contribute to our SICK-bössa was welcome to sign up on the baking list, and then bake their tastiest buns or other snacks to bring at lunchtime!

Emma L. We got a lot of help from IT this year to set things up – in particular to livestream the Musikhjälpen show during lunch time. There was also everyone who bought or baked fika during the week, and those who helped share the word. It was a team effort!

How do you see people responding to this internally?

Emma T. Good! People can donate anonymously, and it is trust based. A new thing this year was that people used the donation box as a chat. People came up with funny pseudonyms and answered each other with each new donation.

What was the result last year? And this year?

Emma T. Last year we collected 11100 SEK and this year 7631SEK! This is enough money to educate 15 farmers in sustainable farming methods and on top of that also feed 11 families for a whole month.  Well done everyone! 😃 💜

What would you like to add?

Emma T. I think you Garance should organize it next year!

Haha we will see, maybe! One last question, what is your favorite fika?

Emma T. Äppelpaj!

Emma L.  Kladdkaka!

Thank you to both of you, and to everyone who participated!