Silent John: Uncovering the Journey of a Quiet Hero

John Hunter has been a regular attendee at the Well drop-in group at The Shed and is a familiar and well-liked figure. During one session, he mentioned participating in a sponsored silence at his previous workplace. I jokingly suggested he do one for The Shed, and he eagerly agreed. We had several conversations, and it quickly became a firm plan for him to do it to raise money for The Shed Project. We set the date for Wednesday, February 26th, from 10 AM to 4 PM. We created sponsor forms and publicized the event to encourage people to contribute, giving John an opportunity to stay silent and allowing others to witness him not talking.

On the day of the silence, I made some cards for John to hold up and help him during the event. John arrived early so he could talk before the silence began, and we discussed how it would go and how he was feeling. He said he would have no problem doing it and was looking forward to it.

At 10 AM, John began his sponsored silence, using his cards to communicate with people who came in. Throughout the day, he did remarkably well, resisting the urge to talk despite his love for communication and discussing football. A few people tried to tease him, knowing they wouldn't get a response, but he remained unresponsive, enjoying the challenge of staying silent and proving them wrong. The atmosphere was quite strange as others also remained quiet, creating an unusual environment.

Several people dropped in to encourage John and witness his silence. He managed well throughout the day, though towards the end, he found it increasingly difficult and became very tired. Despite the challenges, John successfully completed the silence. Seconds after it ended, he started talking, saying it was easy and that he enjoyed it, but now he was ready to go to bed. He also mentioned that he believed he could repeat the silence for three days!

We are deeply grateful to John for taking on this challenge and for choosing to raise funds for The Shed project. He received tremendous support from friends, family, fellow Shed users, and even hospital staff. The money raised will directly benefit our work and will be used to organize a special trip, providing Shed attendees with opportunities they might not otherwise have. We are thrilled to share that the incredible amount raised so far exceeds £1500, which is truly fantastic!

Well done John!