We're still collecting donations
On the 1st November 2023 we'd raised £22,330 with 102 supporters in 35 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Support our story
by Grimm and Co. Limited in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Total raised £22,330
raised so far+ est. £2579.75
102
supportersHelp Grimm & Co raise funds for the creative activities we deliver to children & young people and be part of the next chapter of our story.
Project by Grimm and Co. Limited
Who we are?
Grimm & Co is a Yorkshire literacy charity with a mission to change lives, one story at a time.
We provide exciting writing workshops to children and young people, from birth to age 18, unleashing imaginations through the joyful discovery of stories. Our creative writing workshops for ages 7+ cover lots of different types of writing, from comedy writing and stories, to poems, plays and monologues. Our family workshops for 0-6 year olds focus on sensory play, stories and language development.
Every child who comes through our doors does so for free. We have never charged children to join our after school clubs, holiday projects or writing workshops.
We want to ensure that children who need us the most will always be able to take part in free activities and creative writing programmes, but we cannot run these fantastic workshops on goodwill and magic alone.
There's one very important person who helps to make the fairytale dream of Grimm & Co a reality. You! We need your help.
What are we doing?
Since we opened our doors in 2016, we have worked with over 29,000 children and young people, in school story-making sessions, out of school clubs and family learning sessions. We were quickly outgrowing our rented space and we needed to expand to reach the schools, families and communities who needed us the most.
In early 2020, thanks to funding from Arts Council England, we purchased a wonderful, gothic building in order to expand our offering, to be able to meet the demands of our communities. However, as we all know, the situation rapidly changed in March 2020, with a global pandemic and lockdowns, meaning that we were unable to proceed as we wanted to with the transformation of this project.
What happens now?
Three years on, after pop-ups in different places, and workshops being held in schools and community spaces across the region, we are incredibly close to being able to open our wonderful new space to the public. We invite you to be part of our brand new Emporium of Stories!
We have welcomed some amazing designers and creators to transform our space with us. Lumsden Design have created iconic spaces for international brands, museums and cultural attractions and we have been thrilled with their beautiful designs for the Emporium of Stories. Together with Codsteaks Ltd and Cronin, they have created an incredible, magical space that we can't wait to show you.
The Emporium of Stories will include three Writer’s Pad spaces, each with its own individual design and feeling. These will be accessed through secret doors, with an air of wonder and amazement.
The spaces can be used in many different ways, whether we are hosting a school for a story-making workshop, young families enjoying sensory play, a group of teenagers discussing the charity’s projects, a corporate breakfast event, or a spoken word poetry performance.
We will have a café, also known as The Feastery, with story-themed activities for young people to enjoy. Catch up with friends, relax with a good book, or simply have a moment of peace in this cozy, magical space.
Finally, we have our apothecary, an integral part of our charity. This is a shop for magical beings to buy their supplies, but humans are welcome too. We only ask that humans check out the side effects of our products, to avoid a case of squeaky bottom burps, unwarranted sarcasm or hairy eyeballs.
Not only is our apothecary a magical place for visitors and customers to enjoy, it is also a portal through which our children and young people can travel, suspending their disbelief and allowing their imaginations to run wild. Don't you all wish you could have visited this apothecary as a child?!
Why we need your help:
We need your help to be able to open with a bang and to continue providing our free creative writing workshops to raise confidence and self-esteem in our young people. Once open, we will be able to invite schools, young people, families and communities into our inclusive, welcoming spaces.
In the 2023/24 academic year, we plan to run a wide range of creative sessions, including:
- helping our 30 Saturday club members to find their voices and become published authors of their own novellas.
- welcoming over 3,300 school children to our new Emporium of Stories to create fun, exciting stories.
- supporting our Young Leader group in the development of their public speaking and creative wellbeing.
- reaching over 180 marginalised children and young people in our after school clubs.
- working with agencies such as Barnados and the Looked After Children team, providing support and positive creative experiences to disadvantaged young people.
This is in addition to the ongoing activities we will provide within the shop and café, in our family learning sessions, and at community outreach events throughout the year.
We aim to work with 4,000 children and young people during the coming year, but we need your support to be able to do so.
We are offering you the chance to get involved right from the beginning of this next chapter. There are some hugely exciting opportunities for you to be a part of our journey, and we'd love you to join us.
Everyone who donates to our project will have their name included with the greatest of thanks on our website and on the programme of events at our Grand Opening in February 2024.
Our rewards:
There are a wide range of rewards on offer, and we hope that something will catch your eye.
Potions:
Secret doors:
The Tree Root light and The Source of all Creativity:
The Beanstalk in Graham's office:
Mind Oiler and the Story cascade in the foyer:
Story stairs on the Giant's bookcase (these are the stairs from our old home - the new stairs will have new stories):
Parchment of Purification, for the toilet twinning reward:
A shot of the Emporium of Stories foyer artwork:
Two of the banners going in Cliffhanger Castle:
The map of Rotherham treasures:
Rewards
This project offered rewards
£3 or more
Story Starter kit
Our Story Starter Kit consists of a clipboard and a Word Wand, and is all that young people need to start a story, together with their imagination! Each child in a Storymaking workshop gets this to write their Excellent Ending, and you can sponsor this for the price of your morning coffee. In return, we'll email you a child's poem to brighten your day!
£6 or more
Magic beans
Support our cause and receive a pack of edible magic beans.
Caution: do not plant these. No beanstalk will grow.
£20 or more
Plant up our garden
Our fully accessible entrance will bring you through a sensory garden to inspire your imagination and revitalise your thoughts. Help us plant up our garden and receive a packet of British wildflower seeds together with a poem from our children and young people.
£20 or more
£20 gift certificate
Bored of goats, get them a note... (from Grimm & Co to say thank you)! Make a donation in the name of a loved one and we can send a special certificate directly to them. This makes a fabulous Christmas gift, and it includes a warm, fuzzy glow as standard.
£25 or more
Currency from the magical realms
Now, as you most likely know, hens teeth, rocking horse poo and leprechaun's gold are not accepted at Grimm & Co in the mortal realm. However, these are very much widely used in the magical realms. Receive a hen's tooth*, shavings of rocking horse poo**, or nuggets of leprechaun's gold, perfect for impressing dinner guests.
*This may not actually come from a hen.
**This may not actually come from a horse, rocking or otherwise.
£35 or more
Leaf your mark
Our beanstalk is growing steadily, and leaves are shooting out all over the place! Sponsor a leaf and receive the chance to grow your own beanstalk*!
*We'll send you some beans to plant, possibly magic.
£45 or more
Giant's Bookshelf
Sponsor a book spine on Sawyer’s Steps, the giant's bookshelf, showcasing excellent stories and diversity of content and authorship in books.
In return, receive a work of creative genius from a young person in a workshop, and a copy of a book from the story shelves.
£200 or more
Sponsor a hanging banner in Cliffhanger Castle
There will be six gorgeous hanging banners in Cliffhanger castle, designed especially for Grimm & Co. Sponsor a banner and receive a framed snippet of the banner, and a piece of creativity written by a child in our workshops.
£320 or more
Storymaking session for a class of 30
We ask for a donation of £320 from a school for each story-making session, to help go towards the costs of putting on this session.
Sponsoring a school story-making workshop will allow us to invite a school to visit who may not have the funds to do so. In return, receive a copy of the story that your sponsored class creates, with space for your very own excellent ending.
£750 or more
Twin your toilet
We have nine beautiful, gender-neutral toilet cubicles in our public spaces. Now, wouldn't you love to sponsor one? In return, receive a personalised Parchment of Purification and a sign for your own toilet door at home, twinning with a toilet in the magical realm.
£800 or more
Buy our old secret door
Sadly, our old secret door, hidden in the shelves at Doncaster Gate, will not be used in our new home. We are offering the chance to buy the old doors and give them a new home.
£1,500 or more
Interactive Whiteboards
Each Writer's Pad space will contain a window on the world (also known as an interactive white board). Young people will be able to see their ideas come to life in front of their eyes. This is an integral part of our storymaking sessions and we will be so grateful. Sponsor this and receive a collection of stories written by children from local schools, with space for your own excellent endings.
£5,000 or more
Sponsor our Story Cascade in the entrance foyer
The first thing you will see when you enter our Emporium of Stories is a cascade of stories, an abundance of words, and books galore. How would you like to sponsor this amazing entrance? See your name featured on one of the books and receive our greatest of thanks.
£8,000 or more
See your name in lights!
The roots of an idea are coming together to shed light on our Feastery. Sponsor our tree root light and have your name carved into a root for all eternity. In addition, you'll get a piece of creative genius from our children and young people, and a framed root* for your friends to admire.
*This may or may not be a twig from an elf's garden
£8,000 or more
Become a titled supporter
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the Mistress of Misplaced Apo'strophes, the ControLler of InConsistent CapitAls, or the Knight of Never Ending Stories? Make a donation to Grimm & Co and receive your unique framed title, along with a collection of creative genius from our children and young people.
£40,000 or more
Discombobulator
Our magical discombobulator connects our classes of school children to Graham or Grizelda in the magical realms, allowing them to receive personal feedback on their amazing stories. Build their confidence and self-esteem by sponsoring our AV systems. In return, receive a pack of goodies including some creative genius from our young people, a major shout out at our Grand Opening, and our eternal gratitude.
£12 or more
Brain duster
In order to pass through a secret door in the magical realms of Grimm, you must enter the Imagination Gym, with its important equipment. Dust the cobwebs away with a Brain Duster! Receive your own special Brain Duster that will twin with the one you are providing to the Imagination Gym here.
£15 or more
Potions
Unfortunately, some of Graham Grimm's potions are past their worst-before date, and as such, we must keep these well out of reach of our magical customers. Who knows what would happen otherwise! Sponsor a potion ingredient such as mermaid scales, giant's toenail clippings or hen's teeth, and receive a ready made potion* and a piece of children's writing in return.
*Humans may use these potions to clean themselves, we are told.
£18 or more
Mind Oiler
In order to pass through a secret door in the magical realms of Grimm, you must enter the Imagination Gym, with its important equipment. Lubricate your thoughts with a mind oiler! Receive your own special mind oiler, to be twinned with the one you will be funding in our Imagination Gym.
£400 or more
Sponsor the Treasures of Rotherham
We wanted to showcase the wonderful treasures of Rotherham for everyone to see at the till in our Emporium of Stories. Sponsor this canopied treasure map and receive a selection of goodies written by our children and young people, along with a framed print from the map itself.
£800 or more
Sponsor the Source of All Creativity!
The Source of all Creativity is here, in Grimm & Co. No, not sauce,
S-O-U-R-C-E- a special and magical, triangular cupboard created by Codsteaks, housing the water source of creativity. In return, you will receive seeds to grow your own creativity at home.
£800 or more
Publish our novellas!
Our Saturday club children have started work on writing a novella, a project that will run until July 2024. Sponsor the publication of this collection into a beautiful book for each child. We will also sell these in our Emporium of Stories, continuing to support our charity and showcase the children’s wonderful writing. You will receive 3 copies of this beautiful book, which will feature your name as the grand sponsor.
£2,200 or more
Sponsor a Secret Door
Hidden within Grizelda's Cabinet of Curiosities lie three secret doors, entrances into realms of creativity, magic and imagination. Climb through a fireplace into the Forge of Fact and Fiction, pass through concealed bookshelves into the Den of Daydreams and Discoveries, or enter the Storyology Lab in the way of CS Lewis, through a wardrobe. Sponsor a secret door and have your name carved in the frame, and get a framed illustration of your door
£3,000 or more
Giant story chair
Become part of our story by sponsoring the giant's storytelling chair. In addition to our undying gratitude, you will receive a selection of stories and creative works from our children and young people, and your name hidden on the chair itself.
£5,000 or more
Sponsor our beanstalk
The beanstalk has been growing steadily since our return to Ship Hill and is almost ready to take its place as the exit from the magical realms of the three Writers Pads. Sponsor the beanstalk and have your name written inside for all travellers to see, along with a framed leaf from the beanstalk and a piece of work created by a young person in our workshops.