I run a children’s charity in West Dorset called The Bank of Dreams & Nightmares and we offer free creative writing workshops to children between the ages of 7 and 18 in the local area. Our aim is to show children just how far their imagination and stories can take them in the real world by working with industry professionals and creating real world outcomes. We are a BANK, but we deal in the currency of stories and words.
We have an ambitious project coming up in October called BANKFEST and we are looking for a lead sponsor to support the event. The event will be working with 450 secondary school children from Weymouth, Bridport and Beaminster.
BANKFEST: A new kind of writing festival, BankFest is aimed at inspiring, informing and coaching local young people with an interest in and talent for writing.
SPONSORSHIP BEING SOUGHT: £20,000 but we are also super interested in discussing how we can incorporate EE LEARN into the event.
TERM: October 2024 to November 2024 - A 3 day festival and then the creation of podcasts and a brochure including learning materials
SECTOR: Arts & Culture and Education
TERRITORY: UK - South West
Event Overview:
We will invite established writers of all kinds – interviewers, memoirists, speechwriters, reviewers, lyricists, poets, scriptwriters, business writers – to work with these young people, developing their skills, boosting their confidence and expanding their horizons. Through interviews (transmitted as podcasts), workshops, filmed and live performance and discussion, and the sharing of work with peers and writers internationally, BankFestwill explore writing as a cathartic, life-enhancing process, and a way to make a life and indeed, a living. At a time when our young people are facing a deepening mental health crisis, BankFest offers its young participants a combination of creative self-expression and a different way of thinking about the world, their place in it, and how they might live their lives.
Why BankFest? The youth of today are facing unprecedented challenges, grappling with anxiety and uncertainty about their future. While the pursuit of practical subjects like Maths and Business Studies is on the rise, the profound power of words and literature is often overlooked. According to a survey conducted by NHS England, in 2023, one in five children and young people in En...
Partners
#bankfest is delighted to be able to introduce two exciting new partnerships for our festival in October 2024. Oxford Outreach (https://www.ox.ac.uk/oxfordforUK) will be attending the event with a group of undergraduate ambassadors who will help facilitate the event and be available to answer questions and encourage young people to consider applying to read English at university. Oxford Outreach are also offering to visit each of 3 schools involved in the festival to deliver their 'Why English?' presentation as well as their Admissions/Application advice. The charity Podium (http://podium.me/) is also attending the festival and providing a fantastic opportunity. Two groups of pupils will be offered training in producing a podcast and will take part in a panel discussion about their own writing, reading and interests which will be recorded and produced as a podcast. The podcasts will be available on The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares and Podium's websites. Pupils with a particular interest in podcasts will also be offered the opportunity to receive further training with the organisation, as well as the possibility of work experience in the future.
I would love to tell you more about it if you might be interested in supporting what will be an inspiring, rewarding and memorable project for all involved.
Hopefully talk soon
Best
Nick Goldsmith
Founder
www.thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org
