2021: A Year in Review

Lockdown, creative writing, book clubs, wildflowers, stories, crafts, litter-picks, events and more… here’s our 2021 round-up

We began the year with the return of our children’s creative writing competition, Imagine That! Our winner was 8 year old Gabriella, who wrote the brilliant story, Jessica and The Dancing Cow
Watch Mike from The Bookworm Players read it here

During February Half-Term we delivered our Story Box at Home packs to families across Liverpool, helping to make the lockdown a little brighter.

For World Book Day, we joined Skywriters Ltd for the launch of their debut book written by Natalie Denny. The beautiful hardback explores self-esteem, confidence, self-love, grief and kinship. You can buy a copy here.

To celebrate Liverpool's Year of Writing and World Poetry Day, we worked with The Bookworm Players to bring a new children’s poetry competition to Liverpool. Watch The Bookworm Players cast perform our winning poems.

In April, we launched our first Double Bill Book Club, reading Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Over the Easter break, we created spring activity packs and worked with Friends of Warbreck Moor Park and Walton Vale Shop to gift them to local families.

In mid-April we held a spring clean in Thirlmere Park and joined All Saints Primary School and Scouse Flowerhouse to sow wildflowers.

In June, we were awarded a National Lottery Community Fund grant to bring reading projects to spaces across Liverpool City Region, and we did just that!

At the beginning of the summer, we held a Wildflower Workshop in Thirlmere Park with B4 Biodiversity - teaching children about the wildflowers being sowed across the city by Scouse Flowerhouse

At the end of June we were finally able to bring The Story Box back to spaces across Liverpool City Region, starting in the beautiful Lister Steps, Old Library.

In July our Book Club read Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, and we held our first in-person meet-up in the lovely Watering Can in Greenbank Park.

Working with the brilliant volunteers from Good Gym Liverpool we held a summer clean-up of Thirlmere Park amongst the wildflowers.

At the end of July we launched our Summer Story Box sessions. Bringing stories, creative writing, games and crafts to The Old Library, Springfield Park, Kensington Fields Community Association, Thirlmere Park and Rotunda.

At the beginning of the summer we worked with Positivity Inc. at the Come Together in the City event in Williamson Square and gifted mindful activity packs to families. And at the end of August we worked with them again to bring the Healing Fields to Rice Lane City Farm. The one-day festival brought people together to heal, have fun and celebrate the end of lockdown

In September we read Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan, a book that really divided the club… in a good way!

In September we launched The Story Box Workshop an interactive pop-up session exploring reading for pleasure, for children aged 2 to 5 and their grown-ups! We read our favourite books and shared hints and tips on how to engage little ones at storytime.

In October we held an autumnal clean-up of Thirlmere Park with Scouse Flowerhouse and local residents.

During October half-term we brought spooky stories, creepy creative writing plus a few tricks and treats to places and spaces across Liverpool. And held a spooktacular craft afternoon in Walton Vale Community Shop.

In November we launched Reading Folk, a free, weekly Book Club for parents and carers, to chat over a good book and enjoy some grown-up company, accompanied by their little ones!

In November our Book Club read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee “Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird.”

In late November we were back in Thirlmere Park to litter pick with All Saints Primary School Council and Eco Emeralds, in just an hour we collected 12 bags of rubbish!

In December we hosted 9 festive Story Box sessions in Toxteth Library, The Old Library and SARA Hall. And gifted 150 books and 300 activity packs to families across Liverpool City Region.

Over the Christmas break our Book Club is enjoying the festive classic, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

 

Before the Christmas break Children and staff from All Saints Primary School helped us litter pick Thirlmere Park. To say a big thank you for all their hard work Santa helped us give every child a copy of Clean Up by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola.

To finish the year we created activity packs for Friends of Springfield Park, Merseyside Domestic Violence Service and Walton Vale Community Shop all with the help of Merseyside Play Action Council.

The beginning of 2021 was tough as we entered another lockdown in the depths of winter, but as we came in to spring we’ve been rebuilding the business and it feels like we're really getting back into the swing of things, which is a huge relief and very exciting!

If you like the work we do and want to see us do more good stuff across Liverpool City Region in 2022, you can support us here

Social Enterprise Day 2021

Happy Social Enterprise Day!

To celebrate social enterprises around the world are joining the #WhoKnew digital campaign, to tell their stories and share the impact of their work.

So for the second year running, we thought we’d share some of the good stuff we’ve been doing!

With the help of our funders, The National Lottery Community Fund, LCVS, Torus Foundation and The Big Help Project we:

  • Created 200 children’s activity packs over the New Year lockdown

  • Organised two fantastic children’s creative writing competitions, Imagine That! and We Love Words!

  • Started two brilliant Story Box Sessions for under-5s on Tuesdays at Toxteth Library and The Old Library on Green Lane

  • Held clean-ups days with local school children, Goodgym Liverpool and volunteers in Thirlmere Park

  • And then planted wildflowers with All Saints Primary School and Scouse Flowerhouse

  • Had a fantastic summer bringing The Story Box to parks, community centres and libraries for children under 11 and their grown-ups

  • Launched Reading Folk, a group for new parents and carers

  • Had a spooktacular Hallowe’en hosting 7 family events over October half-term

  • And our seasonal Book Club has gone from strength to strength, reading The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

We’ve got lots of festive fun coming up over November and December, to keep-up-to-date sign-up to our mailing list here