CELEBRATE with us this junE!
There is stacks happening this month - read on to find out what we've been up to, how we're celebrating the International Day of Play and Refugee Week, and how you can get involved.
International Day Of Play
The 11th of June is the UN's International Day of Play which has been created to put play back on the agenda - on this day and everyday.
We want to use the Day of Play to celebrate and spread the joy of play, whilst opening up conversations about conditions for children on the UK/ French border. The children we work with have no access to safe spaces, play or education whilst on the move.
We believe that children should have access to their right to play.
We'll be joining with Make-Do Play for a day of free play, fun and fundraising in London. Across the UK, Get It Done will be playing too! They're a community arts organisation supporting people to address social issues on their doorstep.
Our friends across the world will be playing with us too - we're so excited to be working with Play Action, who bring innovative child-centred play to children across Uganda and Kenya, and Hope and Play, who bring hope for the future and space to play to Palestinian children in Gaza and beyond.
On the 11th, we will celebrate the universal and unifying power of play whilst discussing the barriers which stop so many children from accessing this right.
Get involved!
There's lots of ways to get involved - and we want you to celebrate with us!
You can:
★ Follow and engage
Follow one of our partners on social media, learn more about their work and engage with their content to help raise awareness. Click below to access our Instagram accounts:
Get It Done (Manchester & London)
Hope & Play (Palestine)
Make Do Play (London)
Play Action International (Kenya & Uganda)
Project Play (northern France)
★ Make a donation
Help keep our organisations playing by making a donation! Click below to find out more:
Hope & Play (Palestine)
Make Do Play (London)
Play Action International (Kenya & Uganda)
Project Play (northern France)
★ Get playful yourself!
Whether you run a playgroup or adventure playground, are a class teacher or simply have a group of friends who would like to get playful, we'd love you to join with us.
All this involves is choosing an activity (see below for inspiration!) and sharing pictures with us so we can create collaborative content to celebrate! Our aim for this day is to raise awareness, but if you'd also like to fundraise you can share the links above and view our fundraising pack for more information.
Activity
At Project Play, we're going to be creating a collaborative art piece and would love other groups to join us - adapting this activity to suit your context. Some previous examples from Project Play sessions have included:
Clockwise from top: mosaic painting on canvas, colourful leaf collage, full body portraits
Questions
During our Day of Play sessions, we'd love you to join us in asking children the following questions, and recording their responses:
1. What's your favourite thing to play?
2. How do you feel when you play?
3. Who is your favourite person to play with?
And it's as simple as that! Together, we're hoping to unite children in the common language of play (adults are very welcome too!).
If you'd like to get involved, please send an email to fundraising@project-play.org and we'll be in touch with more information on how we can work together, and what we can do to support you - we have stickers and postcards to send to groups too if you'd like them.
Refugee Week
International Day of Play isn't the only reason we're celebrating this month! The 17th-23rd marks Refugee Week, the world’s largest arts and culture festival dedicated to celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of people on the move.
Art Auction
We are SO excited to announce that we're hosting an art auction to celebrate Refugee Week - thanks to some incredible, and incredibly generous, artists, we have a fantastic range of lots on offer - there's something to suit every budget, and every taste.
Running online from the 17th-23rd June, all proceeds will go to helping us continue to bring play to children on the move in northern France - and we need your help to spread the word far and wide!
Click the link below to view the lots, and take part - bookmark it for the 17th, and share with anyone you think might be interested!
Organise your own event!
Grassroots organisations like us rely on donations to continue providing services - without the generous support and hard work of our fundraisers, we wouldn't be able to bring play to children on the move. If you'd like to organise an event - big or small - to raise funds for us this Refugee Week - THANK YOU! You are amazing. The following pack provides some key info to support you, but please also email us to let us know what you're planning so we can help out!
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Donate
If you'd like to support us, and are in a position to do so financially, we really can't emphasise that even a little means a lot. We're so grateful to everyone who donates - whether £1, £10 or £1,000!
If you're in a position, consider making a monthly donation to help us build stability and sustainability in our fundraising. More info via the link below.