Recent updates

The latest news from our projects

  • A Twirly 24 hour update

    An update for Transforming Tooting Bus Circle into a Pop-Up Village Green

    Jun 21 2017

    Dear Twirlers,

    Thankyou all SO much for your contributions to our fundraising efforts in this first day of crowdfunding.

    We are excited to announce that, in our first 24 hours, we have raised a total of £495 towards making the Tooting Twirl a reality!

    However we have still raised less than 25% of our target with only 20 days to go, so if you are as excited at the prospect of transforming the Tooting Broadway bus turning circle into our very own village green as we are, please encourage your family and friends to make a small donation to our campaign, and help make our twirly dreams come true!

    We’ll be sending you regular updates on our progress, and tweeting from the Transition Town Tooting account as the campaign goes on, so please do tweet us directly, or follow us at @tttooting.

    In the meantime, thanks again, and spread the word!

     

    Lucy, Richard, Jeni
    ​

     

     

  • Superheroes in Disguise

    An update for A safe haven for refugee and asylum seeking children

    Jun 19 2017

    “Little Boys are just Superheroes in Disguise” said the top of one of the children today. Boys and girls are treated no differently in the Project but when a boy arrives for the first time it sometimes helps to provide distraction by propelling one of our fleet of toy cars in his direction. Or a doll in a toy push chair!

    Anna Burness, who runs the Project, has reminded staff not to assume that all our cultural norms are the same. At 11 am each morning the children sit at chairs around a table and eat bread and chopped-up fruit together. But some will be living with their family in a single room with no chairs, a bed the only dining area and a diet dependent on what can be achieved on a minimal income. 

    Thank you for supporting this project.  Your donation makes a world of difference!  We have one day left of the campaign.  If you know anyone who might be able to pledge their support please let them know about us and share bit.ly/brrchild  THANK YOU!

  • First workshop space at M Shed booked for the seagull project

    An update for A unique and amazing flock of beautiful friendly seagulls

    Jun 14 2017

    Hello everyone and thank you to all who have pledged money for this project so far. Thanks to the generous donations so far I have been able to agree  a date and book the very first  big workshop at M Shed. The date will be Sunday 15th October 1.30-4pm ..so exciting

    I just need another £60 and I can book the second workshop 

    Today I have been working on a pattern for a black headed gull ..photo soon 

     

    Thank you again - Vic

  • Early Years journeys with books and music . . .

    An update for A safe haven for refugee and asylum seeking children

    Jun 12 2017

    We want to say a BIG thank you for supporting this campaign.  Here is a little glimpse of what was happening in the project last Friday.

    “Spot is busy packing – he is going to stay with his grandparents for a week.” Although the world of Spot the Dog is very different from the world that the children in the Early Years Project inhabit, some of them are now able to turn Eric Hill’s colourful pages and make their first ventures into the wonderful world of books. Ventures into music too – the Project has some simple xylophones and when Afrah, one of the Project’s staff picks up a bongo drum, very soon all the children who are old enough to stand – and some of the staff – are dancing to the rhythm she creates.

    But when the rain stops, there is a rush for the little garden. Water play has to be closely supervised for some of the children, even when dressed in the Project’s water-proof clothes and wellies, to throw themselves in.     

    Do you know anyone who may be interested in pledging their support?  Please ask them to look up: bit.ly/brrchild and pledge anything they can!

    Thank you 

  • A Sound Foundation to build on..

    An update for St George's Bristol Crowdfund

    Jun 8 2017

    Following a sell out Festival of Ideas event with Bernie Sanders last Saturday the hall is now closed to public access until late September. A large crane together with a constant flow of earth removing and incoming cement lorries have taken over the site for the summer as the construction programme moves into full swing. We also now have scaffolding in place at the Great George Street entrance as the stonemasons get to work on a full restoration of our pennant step and the boundary and terrace walls, as part of HLF funded works of our project.

    Arrival of the crane on site last Sunday:

    Progress on site with the completion of the retaining wall and foundation slab for the new extension:

    We are so grateful to you all for your generous support - we now have the final £100,000 to raise to complete our £6.3M appeal. Reaching the £200,000 target of this crowdfund campaign will get us there! Any further support you can offer by continuing to share our campaign will be so appreciated. We are so close now and with your continued help and support we are sure to complete the appeal in the immediate weeks ahead.

    Thank you again for all your support as we progress to now build on our newly laid and solid foundations.

  • A Fairer World

    An update for A safe haven for refugee and asylum seeking children

    Jun 8 2017

    It is Ramadan and many BRR members are fasting.  The fasting period is a time of developing inner strength; something which is so important to getting through the asylum process.  Today the Welcome Centre main hall has been used as a polling station but the Advocacy and Information team, Asylum Support and the Early Years Project were still supporting individual members and families.  We are hopeful that the government that forms at the end of this election will support our cause and work towards a fairer world!

  • Upfest 2017 Rewards & Hotel Winner!

    An update for Upfest 2017 - Street Art & Graffiti Festival

    Jun 8 2017

    Hey folks,

    Thanks for your patience whilst we've got your fundsurfer rewards together, everyone should have received an email now with details of how to get your reward, if you haven't then it's because our mailing software doesn't like you (sorry about that), if that's the case please can you email upfest2017artists@gmail.com and we can advise on how to get it or have it sent.  

    If your reward was a PAHNL T-shirt or PAHNL print, these have arrived today, if you can collect, please come and grab yours from the gallery (Upfest Gallery 198 North Street, Bristol, BS3 1JF) else email upfest2017artists@gmail.com with your address details...

     

    And the winner is.....

    As part of our campaign we offered two nights free accommodation for two at the newly renovated Grand Hotel courtesy of our hotel partner Mercure Hotels for one of you lovely supporters.

    We put the numbers 1 - 464 into a hat (actually we used googles random number generator) and the winner was No 115!

    The lucky person with No 115 ticket was DrHelen !  (DrHelen we'll be in contact soon with details of how to book in at the hotel).

     

    Thanks again to everyone that supported, see you at the festival!

    The Upfest Crew

     

    For further info about the festival visit our website https://www.upfest.co.uk/ or event page and make sure you follow us on twitter @upfest

  • The End of the Campaign

    An update for Don Davies Independent Parliamentary Candidate for North Somerset on June 8th

    Jun 7 2017

    Dear All,

    Thank you so much for all your wonderful contributions to Don's campaign.  It has enabled us to do far more social media advertising than we would otherwise have had the chance to do as well as putting the advert for Don in the North Somerset Times, buying a Vote Don Davies banner, printing leaflets, laminating placards and posters and a myriad of other work on Don's behalf.

    Don has asked me to add his thanks to this note and say that he has been touched by the level of support and offers of help he has had over the past seven weeks.

    With very best wishes,

    Don Davies Campaign Team

  • More Rewards Coming Soon!

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Jun 2 2017

    Happy Friday everyone!

    I hope you're all doing well.

    It is just over two weeks since the Empower Youth Voices campaign ended!  Can you believe it?  I've already started putting some of your money to good use, as it contributed to the venue hire for this month's poetry night and the filming costs.  Look out for the video very soon on our YouTube channel - I've just watched it and I really like it.

    For those of you who have not received your rewards yet, I haven't forgotten you.  I will be in touch and they will be coming soon.  For those of you who chose the Poetic Thank You, I think you're going to love your collection of poems.

    Enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.

    Shaniqua :)

  • Moulding clay & sing song

    An update for A safe haven for refugee and asylum seeking children

    Jun 2 2017

    The attraction of moulding clay inside didn't last long today and most of the children were soon out in the Project’s garden. There they can splash about a bit, roll a tyre down the sloop, dig in the earth for a glimpse of worms or jump from one low platform to another. Even better if they can persuade one of the staff to fly them across the platforms – “my turn” seems to be one of the first English phrases many of them learn and other words soon follow.

    Persuading them to wear sun hats isn’t easy but if one of the older children can be persuaded then the rest are more likely to follow suit. Newer arrivals often start by playing on their own but those who have been there longer sometimes take it on themselves to make sure that the new ones don’t remain isolated and international friendships soon become apparent – an especially welcome sight taking into account recent events.

    A song to begin snack time, complete with a rhythmic table tapping, helps to ensure a regular eating routine – hand washing, song singing, eating of fruit and bread and then, only after eating is over, a return to play. Then more singing before the mothers arrive and the session ends –

    “One little man in a flying saucer

    Flew round the world one day

    He looked left and right

    Didn’t like the sight

    And one man flew away – whoosh!”