June Newsletter
Greetings Little Green Pig friends!
This Volunteers Week we're celebrating the contribution of our brilliant volunteers! We couldn't do our work without them and we're so proud of all that we achieve together. A massive THANK YOU to you all!
We're also excited to bring news of our work this past term - from learning about newts and slow worms to creating comics and planning the future of Little Green Pig - it's been a busy few months.
Volunteers Week
As we celebrate Volunteers Week from 3rd - 9th June, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of our volunteers. Their dedication, compassion and creativity makes an incredible difference in the lives of so many children and young people.
Our multi-talented Story Mentors and Illustrator Mentors are at the heart and soul of Little Green Pig, and they are essential to our mission to nurture children’s imaginations and self-expression. This academic year they have given over 280 hours of their time, supporting the children and young people at our clubs and workshops. Their hard work and commitment inspire us every day, and we are profoundly thankful for their contributions. Here’s to you, our amazing volunteers!
Our Minimentors are children who've been part of our primary After School Clubs and are now aged 11+ and attending secondary school. They come back to the group and take on a leadership role supporting younger club members and help to document the club activities with their own creative projects such as this photo essay from Thejal.
Little Green Pig Volunteer and Creative Writing Student Geri Oida has written about her experience of being a story mentor for the University of Brighton blog. Here are some of her illustrations which capture perfectly what being a story mentor was like for her.
What we've been writing ...
Moulsecoomb Forest Garden Trip
In April Tuesday Club took a trip to Moulsecoomb Forest Garden as part of their 'Wild Words' project. They enjoyed exploring the garden and seeing slow worms, newts and tadpoles and created some great work in response. Poet and writer Antonia Jade King visited the club as a special guest to assist with rhyming and spoken word for this 'Wild Words' project about nature and animals.
Creating Comics at Thursday Club
KAPOW - Pig Power! Last month was all about creating comics for Thursday Club, our central Brighton After School Club for 7 to 11 year olds led by Laura Wilkinson. Young comic artists dreamt up their own super hero pig-themed characters and action-packed adventures which have been printed into a final comic to take home. A visit from professional artist and Illustrator Mentor Maggie Chau helped to inspire Thursday Club's unique comic book creations as she shared top tips.
Other News ...
Strategy planning day with Trustees, Youth Board and Staff
In April staff, trustees and youth board members gathered for a strategy planning day facilitated by Kerryn Wotton from Willow Consulting. Thanks to Kerryn for leading us through some inspiring and provocative discussions about our future and to Propellernet for hosting.
Shared Prosperity Fund
Little Green Pig are delighted to have received funding from the Brighton and Hove UK Shared Prosperity Fund towards Club Amplified this autumn, when children from our Brighton and Hove after school clubs will share their stories in front of a live audience in various community settings, building their writing and performance skills.
Welcome to our new Ambassador
We're delighted to welcome our new Little Green Pig Ambassador Patrice Lawrence. Patrice is a Brighton-born writer. She has won many awards including the Bookseller YA Prize, the Waterstones Prize for Older Children’s Fiction, the Bristol Crimefest YA Prize, the Woman and Home Teen Drama Award, the Jhalak Children's Award and the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children's Fiction. Patrice has been awarded an MBE for Literature and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her favourite word is ‘mango’.
Photo - Portrayed Photography.
Upcoming Events
Brighton Book Festival Event
Little Green Pig will be sponsoring another event as part of Brighton Book Festival 2024 at the Family Festival on Saturday 22 June. Children aged 7 upwards can come to be part of our Open Mic event to share poetry, jokes, stories or anything they have written. The event is free to LGP families or £3 for others, from 10.45 am to 11.45pm. AFLO the poet and Roy McFarlane will co-host this event which will be a tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah. Also featuring performances and workshops with Joseph Coelho, Writing our Legacy, Afrori Books and more.
Venue: Brighton University City Campus, 58-67 Grand Parade, BN2 0JY
More info and booking here.
The Big Help Out
Come and visit our stall at the King’s Big Help Out in Brighton and Hove and learn about our volunteering opportunities!
Sunday 9th June 11.30am - 4.00pm at Hove Park supporting #TheBigHelpOut campaign to raise awareness of volunteering in the UK & provide opportunities for people to make a difference in their communities. Get ready for a day of making memories, making a difference and participating in a variety of fun children's activities and fun dog show.
Fancy a new adventure? We're looking for new Story Mentors and Illustrators across Brighton, Eastbourne and Worthing. This Volunteers Week there's no better time to come and volunteer with Little Green Pig. Read about how you can train to become one of our amazing team of volunteers on the website here, or get in touch with Sally, our Volunteer Manager. Full support and training, travel expenses, and DBS checks are provided. Mentors often feedback on how much they learn and gain from the experience of supporting young writers too - it's a two way learning process!
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