Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston. Pic: Ewan Munro
A DJ night will be held in Dalston to raise awareness for those dealing with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis this Friday.
‘Shake N’ Jack’ at the Vortex jazz club hopes to raise money for Crohn’s and Colitis U.K., the leading charity for those suffering from the two diseases.
The event is being organized by design and technology teacher Alistair Mason, 45, from Sheffield. Mason now lives in Newington Greene.
The night will feature guest slots from local DJs David Jarvis, owner of the Love Vinyl record store and Martin Lode of the radio station, MiSoul.
Speaking to EastLondonLines, Mason said: “The event is a fundraiser to make people aware of crohns and colitis as it’s still not that widely known as people seem to suffer in silence. It was the 25th anniversary of me being diagnosed last year and as I used to be a DJ and I’ve been wanting to throw a party for ages, so I thought I’d host one in my local area to help raise awareness.”
Both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are forms of inflammatory bowel disease, characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Symptoms and severity vary from person to person and are dependant on how much inflammation is present. Medication is often used in the treatment of IBD, except in some cases where surgery may be required.
According to Crohn’s and Colitis UK, around 300,000 people are diagnosed with one of these diseases, with more than half of those diagnosed when they are young.
Mason was diagnosed when he was 21 and has been on medication and undergone surgery to help combat the disease. Mason hopes that ‘Shake N’ Jack’ will be a reoccurring event.
His ‘Dance for Crohns’ page on JustGiving has also been set up to help raise money for the charity.
“I think more awareness will be great and it needs to be more widely talked about as there is a lot of people suffering in silence. It’s something I can build on and fly the flag for Crohns and Colitis UK in the local area and I hope that we can help people be more open and talk about it and it’ll be great to raise a nice sum of money that I can send to Crohns and Colitis UK for medical research or local care.” Mason said.
The event will be held on Friday, 28th June from 9 p.m.
