Hello!
We’re Starling. Welcome to our flock!
- If you'd like to find out who we are & what we do, read on!
- If you already know what we do, and want to cut straight to the birthday party news, scroll to the bottom!
- To buy a ticket, please look for the 'Rewards' section and choose your ticket option from there. On mobile, click 'Support Us' first. On a computer, it's to the right of the screen.
We believe that great minds don't always think alike
At Starling, our vision is to build a neuro-inclusive world, with thinking differently as standard.
With this in mind, Starling took flight as a charity in Greater Manchester in 2019. Since then, we’re really proud to have supported 220 neurodivergent young people each year in Greater Manchester!
Creativity & wellbeing
We run free arts-based projects for neurodivergent young people aged 13-25 in Greater Manchester. Our sessions aim to provide young people with a safe place to have fun and be themselves, with a focus on self-expression, building a sense of positive identity, and meeting like-minded people - ultimately improving their own wellbeing.
Some of our young people at a music session
Building confidence
As well as being able to just relax and be themselves, many of the young people who come along to our sessions have developed really strong levels of confidence, amazing social bonds with other young people, and they’ve been able to understand themselves a little bit better. And that’s exactly what we want for as many of the young people we work with as possible!
Creating digital art
Here’s some lovely feedback we’ve received from our young people:
“Meeting new people who are in the same situation as you really helps you feel so confident and comfortable”
“Everyone there was so welcoming and friendly, it was very relaxing, and the activities were things I'd never had the chance to try before”
“It gave me access to resources and experience of activities I would not have done otherwise”
One of our young people taking part in a theatre session
Art in all its forms
Alongside some really fab creatives, our artwork takes all shapes: print-making, puppetry, animation, illustration, theatre, music, poetry - we try it all! In July 2022, we even exhibited at Manchester Art Gallery - how cool is that?! Check out our highlights video from the exhibition on Instagram.
Testing out a newly built puppet
Supporting neuro-inclusion and amplifying awareness & acceptance of neurodiversity
In 2021, we launched our training and consultancy work to improve understanding and acceptance of ND more widely in society. Through this, we’ve now trained more than 1300 professionals! What’s more, 100% of profits from our training directly fund our wellbeing sessions, making it a win-win for neuro-inclusion.
On top of that, we love to collaborate with artists, communities and cultural organisations on projects: co-creating meaningful responses to questions and conversations sparked by the infinite diversity of human minds. You can check out our work on Neurodiversity Friendly Social Spaces on our YouTube page.
Planting in personalised pots in Trafford
We’re having a birthday party!
In 2024, Starling is turning 5 years old. We're taking the opportunity to celebrate everything we've achieved and we want to celebrate with YOU - our Starling community!
Location: Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK
Date: Thurs 19th September
Time: 7-10pm
You can expect performances, a mini-exhibition, food & drink, and the unveiling of our 5th Anniversary Photobook - curated by Starling’s young people! The money raised for this event will help us to continue to support neurodivergent young people in all the ways we mentioned above.
We've created eight tiers to make sure there's a ticket for everyone. You can choose the ticket you think is right for you under the 'Rewards' section of this page.
- Community ticket - Free
A complimentary ticket to our birthday party, exclusively available to our young people & their family members.
- Standard ticket - £10
1x ticket to our birthday party.
- Buy a ticket, give a ticket - £20
1x ticket to our birthday party for you, and 1x for a young person in our community
- Ticket with limited edition art print - £25
1x ticket to our birthday party, PLUS a limited edition art print, created by one of Starling's young people
- Ticket with photobook - £35
1x ticket to our birthday party, PLUS a copy of our Starling 5th Birthday photobook, created especially for this event
- Ticket with art print & photobook - £50
1x ticket to our birthday party, PLUS a limited edition art print created by one of Starling's young people, AND a copy of our Starling 5th Birthday photobook, created especially for this event
- Ticket with art print, photobook & name in photobook - £100
1x ticket to our birthday party, PLUS a limited edition art print created by one of our young people, AND a copy of our Starling 5th Birthday photobook, AND your name (or your company's name) featured in the photobook as a thank you for your donation!
- Super donor - £500+
For super generous people & organisations - event sponsorship level! For donations of £500 or more, you will receive:
- 5 tickets to our birthday party
- Your name (or company's name) in the programme and the photobook
- A mention on the night
📧 Please note: All tickets will be on a guestlist rather than being physical or digital. If you choose an option with an art print or photobook, these will be available to collect at the event itself. We will send you an event reminder two weeks before the party!
Can't make it on the night? You also have the option of ordering a limited edition art print or photobook without a ticket! We will get in touch separately to organise collection or delivery by post.
By contributing to our Crowdfunder, you'll be showing your support for our young people, as well as financially supporting the future running of our projects.
Thanks so much for reading. We really look forward to celebrating with you! 💃🐦🕺🪩
Flocking off,
Team Starling