Recent updates

The latest news from our projects

  • One Week In

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Apr 19 2017

    Can you believe that we're already one week in to the campaign?  I know I can't, but there is still a lot of time to go and a lot more money to be raised.

    Thank you to all of you for pledging and getting the total up to £288 so far - you know I really appreciate you right?

    If I'm being honest with you, this journey has been so much harder than I ever imagined and convincing people to donate is incredibly difficult.  However, I'm going to keep pushing on and putting in the work, because empowering the voices of young people is worth it, which was displayed in yesterday's forum.  

    One of our regular participants, Alana, did a great job in leading out for the first time and I could not be more proud.  This is what Young People Insight is all about and why I am determined to make it a success.  

  • We're Over 10%

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Apr 18 2017

    Hello everyone,

    Yesterday we reached and then exceeded 10% of our target!  

    Of course, that never would have happened without you and your generous support, so thank you again.

    If you're free today, try and come down to Project B (1 Bell Hill, Croydon, CR0 1FB) from 6.30-8.30pm when we'll be having our forum and we can thank you in person.  A big smile and hug will be waiting for you.

    Enjoy the rest of your day and hope to see you later.

  • Support Upfest 2017

    An update for Upfest 2016 - Europe's largest street art & graffiti festival

    Apr 17 2017

    Official Upfest 2017 T-shirt by festival artist duo PAHNL!

    Pledge £25 today and get rewarded!

     

  • Keeping Our Campaign Alive on Day 5

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Apr 16 2017

    We can't believe our campaign is already on to Day 5 - isn't it crazy how fast time flies?

    It's almost time for our monthly forum too, when we'll be discussing Synthetic Beauty vs Natural Beauty.  If you're free on Tuesday from 6.30-8.30pm, you should come down to Project B in Croydon and join the conversation with us.  They always prove to be incredibly interesting and they will definitely challenege your mindset.

    Last month we discussed Freedom of Speech and it definitely made me think differently.  You can catch up on some of the points raised on the Young People Insight blog.

    In the meantime, why not share the campaign page and play your part in empowering more youth voices?

  • It's Day 3, Let's Talk About Poetry

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Apr 14 2017

    It's day 3 of crowdfunding and now the total is up to £117!  

    Thank you again to all of the wonderful people who have made a pledge, you're making a genuine difference in the lives of a number of young people.

    One of the ways you're making a difference is by allowing us to continue to put on monthly poetry nights, which give young poets and spoken word artists the opportunity to showcase their talents while speaking their mind.  The nights are always a special experience, filled with inspiring poetry and amazing young talent.

    Don't just take my word for it though.  Have a look at some of the best bits from our first poetry night of 2017.

  • On to Day 2

    An update for Empower Youth Voices

    Apr 13 2017

    Hello there,

    Day 1 of our crowdfunding campaign ended with £28 being pledged.  Thank you to our first backers, we couldn't do this without you.  

    We're now on to Day 2 and we're excited to say that we've been mentioned in the Tooting Daily Prss!  It would be great if you could take a little time to read it and share if you like it.  Every little bit of support helps.

    Enjoy the rest of your day and speak to you again soon.

    Shaniqua

     

  • Half way there!

    An update for St George's Bristol Crowdfund

    Apr 13 2017

    Just to say firstly an enormous Easter THANKS to all you.. our 271 crowdfund backers to date.. In just over four months since we launched we are about to reach the half way point of this, the final campaign to complete our Building a Sound Future capital appeal. That alone makes this one of the largest crowdfund campaigns in Bristol, and certainly the largest arts crowdfund appeal outside of London by a mile!

    We set ourselves a target of reaching the halfway point by Easter, and we are so close..! With 100% matched funding and gift aid, we need to attract further donations totalling £1,200 to get us there. Anything you can do as our signed up supporters to encourage others to join will really help, so if you can share the campaign again for us over the Easter break, we would be so grateful.

    We have some exciting project updates and visuals of the building works which are now underway to share with you all, which we will do in the week after the Easter break, when we hope to be over that all important half way point! Remember that this is the final campaign of our overall appeal, and we are determined to reach that final target. We have now raised over £6.1M for our project overall, and completing the crowdfund target of £200,000 will ensure we reach the final appeal target of £6.3M. 

    Wishing you all the best for a Happy and relaxed Easter break, and please do keep sharing our campaign.. together we can crack the £100,000 total and bring new supporters in to join the campaign!

    Thank you again for all your support.

    Simon

  • Thanks for supporting Upfest

    An update for Upfest 2016 - Europe's largest street art & graffiti festival

    Apr 12 2017

    Hey folks,

    So it's been almost a year since you lovely people helped us reach our 2016 crowd funding target!

    After the huge success of 2016 with over 35,000 visitors our costs to host 350+ artists for 2017 have grown further, so we're at it again and would love your support!

    As always there are some great rewards for supporting the festival from sticker packs, festival prints to home or office murals...

    Check out this years rewards HERE

    BigUP for your support!

    The Upfest Crew

  • URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

    An update for Outdoor Cinema in Teignmouth

    Mar 31 2017

    URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT

    PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

    DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THE DATE OF THE OUTDOOR CINEMA HAS CHANGED TO

    FRIDAY 7TH JULY AND SATURDAY 8TH JULY 2017.

    I would apologise for any inconvenience caused and should anyone require a refund of their pledge please contact me via the pledge site www.fundsurfer.com/outdoorcinema

    ALL OTHER DETAILS REMAIN THE SAME and TO AVOID DOUBT THE REASON FOR THIS DECISION WAS DUE TO AN UNFORSEEN AND UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCE WHICH ONLY CAME TO LIGHT IN THE LAST FEW DAYS

    If you have any questions, please PM on Facebook or telephone 01626 775700

    Regards and thank you for your understanding

    Paul Burgess

    PS: We will shortly announce a competition for budding film makers and details of the screen!

  • Thank you for your support! We raised £3405 for Syrians in need

    An update for Stories and Songs for Syrians

    Mar 11 2017

    Dear friends and supporters of Stories and Songs for Syrians,

    Thank you so much for your generous donation to our fundraising appeal for Hands Up Foundation's urgent humanitarian and medical support to Syrian victims of war.

    We’re delighted to announce that we raised £3504 between our 8-week online fundraiser and the weekend of Stories and Songs for Syrians events with Nadine Kaadan and Babel Babies. Over 120 people from several countries gave donations and got involved with the project, which is just amazing.

    We have so many people to thank: The Suffolk Anthology Bookshop, Cheltenham, and The Friendship Café, Gloucester for hosting our Stories + Songs for Syrians events in February, and writer and illustrator Nadine Kaadan, and Cate Hamilton of Babel Babies for entertaining us, and for donating CDs and books. Baker & Graze café in Cheltenham for the tray of delicious rose and pistachio donuts and Rowena for the cat biscuits! Sheila Hoeman, Saqi Books, Penguin Random House and Lantana Publishing for donating books, and Zaytoun for donating dates, as rewards for pledges (we hope they have arrived safely in the post to those who requested a gift. We have a couple more to send out, but mostly they should have arrived by now!). Kareem for offering to cover the postage of said gifts, and Caroline, Gemma, Pleuni, Vera, Hilary and everyone else who helped out at the events and gave lifts to the Syrian families. The Gloucestershire Echo for publicising the events and the fundraising appeal, Roma Widger of Bristol Community FM for coming to interview Nadine and Cate and BBC Bristol for featuring it as part of weekly best-of programme! Journalist Marcia Lynx Qualey for championing the project at every possible venue, including in Germany’s Qantara magazine and on Bookriot.com (see below).

    And thank you, you guys, for donating your hard earned cash to help Syrian victims of war.

     

    George, Louisa, Johnnie & Rose of The Hands Up Foundation sent out some incredible news this week: so far, Singing For Syrians projects have raised £105,500 to send to aid projects to help Syrians in need. But it’s not over! Sadly, Syria and the people caught in the crisis still need our help, and Singing for Syrians events are continuing across the UK in 2017. If you would like to hold an event, you can register early for your free pack on the website www.singingforsyrians.com. If you’re involved in a choir or music group, please do consider holding your own Singing for Syrians event to raise money for Syrian refugees and displaced people in need. And do get in touch if you’re interested in running an event for kids and would like some advice on how to go about it.

    Thank you again, shukran jazeelan,

    Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, Nadine Kaadan, Cate Hamilton and Hanan - coordinators of Stories and Songs for Syrians fundraising appeal for the Hands Up Foundation #SingingForSyrians