Donna wanted her senior team on camera, telling the stories people don't know about Rockinghorse.
Donna Holland and the team at Rockinghorse Children's Charity
Rockinghorse is the children's hospital charity in Brighton.
Between April and September 2025 we filmed with seven of the team, at their office, at Platf9rm and at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, and made about fifty short films for their social media.
Where they started
The first proposal I sent Donna was about raising her own profile as chief executive, and she wrote back to change it, with her own version of the proposal attached.
“Could we focus this on raising the profile of the charity, rather than me specifically? I’d like to use this as an opportunity for all of my senior team to raise their profile and presence.”
So I updated it around the charity and her senior team.
And when we sat down with Donna and Alex in April, Donna told us that people know Rockinghorse for the toys and the Easter eggs, and much less for the work at the hospital that she wanted them to hear about.
What working with us involved
Strategy
Before anyone was filmed I wrote a guide for our strategy session, and when we sat down with Donna and Alex in April we worked out who on the team should be on camera and which people outside the hospital Rockinghorse most wanted to reach.
Session guide written 8 April 2025
Scripts and filming briefs
Each of the team we filmed in May had a brief from us first, with a hook for each video, the points to cover and how to end it. And the first outline we wrote for Donna's films at the hospital was built to open on what she'd told us in that strategy session: “Think Rockinghorse is just about toys and Easter eggs?”
Briefs for five of the team, 12 May 2025
On-camera coaching
In September I ran a workshop for the team on building their confidence on camera. We watched one of Fran's films together, and I said what I liked about it was that it was honest and concise, and that people would connect with that far more than with a song and a dance and chasing trends.
Recorded on 9 September 2025
What we made
Most of the films are one person from the team talking about one part of what Rockinghorse does.
Four films from the first day
Donna and Alex at Platf9rm in Brighton, on a day in Donna's life and how small the team really is.
Films at the hospital
Donna on location at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, from the sensory room to outside the emergency department, and members of her team showing the projects they look after there.
The rest of the team
Sharon on leaving a gift in your will, Amanda on what local businesses can do, Emma on fundraising with schools and community groups, and Jess on Rockinghorse's wellbeing service.
The films
Here are a few of the films, with the team in their own words.
