Surrey-based home technology company Equippd recently partnered with national homelessness charity Crisis by transforming part of the Christmas Day Centre in central London into a pop-up cinema for guests over the festive period.
Complete with high-quality sound and visuals, comfortable deck chairs and freshly popped popcorn, the space hosted a programme of film screenings throughout the centre’s Christmas opening.
Close to 300 people attended the pop-up cinema across nearly 15 screenings over five days, enjoying a range of festive favourites and popular films.
While Equippd typically designs and installs high-end home entertainment and technology systems for private residences, this initiative reflects the company’s belief that great technology isn’t just about luxury – it’s about joy, storytelling and time together.
For clients of Crisis, many of whom face some of the most challenging circumstances, the pop-up cinema provided a chance to relax, unwind and enjoy a shared experience during a time of year that can otherwise be particularly difficult.
“We’re really grateful to Charlie and the Equippd team for working with us once again to create the pop-up cinema and to offer our guests the chance to connect and enjoy a good film together during the festive period,” says Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at Crisis.
“This winter hundreds of thousands of people across Britain will not have a safe and stable place to call home. Through our wider Christmas services, providing everything from hot meals to health and wellbeing services, we want to make sure that someone’s first day at Crisis can be the start of their life out of homelessness.”
Charlie McCourt, Founder of Equippd, says, “For many people, Christmas is about coming together, sitting down to watch a favourite film or a festive special and sharing that time with others. This pop-up cinema is our way of extending that feeling of togetherness to people who might otherwise miss out on it.
“This is the second year we’ve partnered with Crisis and it’s become one of the most meaningful things we do as a company. We spend our days creating high-end home entertainment experiences, but Christmas is an opportunity to step beyond our day-to-day work and think about how what we do can make a small but genuine difference.”
The initiative formed part of Crisis’s wider Christmas programme, which provides thousands of people experiencing homelessness with hot meals, healthcare, support services and a safe place to stay during the festive period.