Please donate to help us provide FREE creative projects for over 500 amazing local young people at our theatre in East London in 2023.
Project by The Yard Theatre Limited
Donations to our project will be matched by the Cost of Living Boost up to the value of £250 to help us tackle the cost of living crisis.
Please note only one donation per supporter will be matched by the Cost of Living Boost. View the Terms & Conditions.
The Yard Winter Fundraiser: Gifting Joy and Creativity to Young People
We are absolutely delighted to have beaten our £10,000 target and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone has supported the campaign this year.
If you would like to carry on supporting our work and stay engaged with what we're doing you can become a Yard Friend from as little as £5 a month - and become part of our wonderful community of regular supporters.
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The Yard is an award-winning theatre and community organisation in Hackney Wick, East London. Hackney Wick remains one of the most deprived area of Hackney with 40% of children being eligible for Free School Meals (against a national average of 21%). Meeting local need through creating free creative opportunities and spaces for inspiration and togetherness for young people and local residents has been key to our mission since we were founded in 2011.
Pioneered by our wonderful Local Team (meet Katherine and Holly!) every year, we reach more than 500 local children and young people aged 8-21 through a free annual creative programme that includes weekly theatre-making workshops with professional artists, our School's Programme; and projects for older young people which offer more advanced industry skills learning to support careers in the arts. Through this work we seek to:
We believe the arts and the incredible benefits it offers - from confidence to rewarding careers - are available for all young people no matter what their background is.
Now the cost-of-living crisis means that making sure free access to creative opportunities remains is even more important than ever to ensure the amazing young people in our local area can continue growing in confidence, learning new skills, and accessing pathways into employment in the arts industry.
“Doing drama makes me feel like a different person and it makes me feel happy.” Yard Young Artist, 2022
“The Yard Theatre's work is vital to the success of Hackney Wick as a community, and to giving young people opportunities.” - Luke Billingham, Hackney Quest youth organisation
How YOU can help.
Through this campaign, we are trying to raise £10,000 to help safeguard our work with local young people in 2023, which has a total annual cost of £80,000. With the funding landscape set to become even more challenging this coming year, we need to fundraise 60% of our annual income through grants, donations and sponsorship.
By making a donation to support our campaign, you will help bring life-changing opportunities through the arts to young people in 2023. Donations of all sizes make a huge difference - and up to £250 of every single donation made to this campaign will be doubled through generous match funding from the Aviva Community Fund.
So if you donate £10 we'll get £20, if you donate £100 we'll get £200, if you donate £250 we'll get £500 and if you donate £1000, we'll get £1,250. You get the idea!
With your support in 2023:
Young people have progressed from our programmes to perform, gain entry to Drama Schools (including Royal Welsh and Central School of Drama), pursue creative degrees (at universities including Cambridge and Leeds) and to find employment in the arts sector.
"The arts help to develop social skills, communication skills, team building skills, confidence and have a positive effect on academia. So it is vital that all children and young people, particularly those from working class backgrounds, are provide with free and high quality artistic outlets" Marlon Kameka, Artist and Yard Youth Practitioner
"It makes me feel soooooooo proud of myself" Yard Young Artist, 2022
The impact of our work - from the young people themselves
“I have seen there is value in my voice on a stage. I have been quiet for so long because I thought my voice doesn’t matter. I’ve realised that it does because it’s my experience and it’s not because I’m speaking for all women or all black people or anyone in-between - I’m speaking for me.”
"Since being on the Black Excellence programme I've felt more ready for employment within the Arts, and I have a much better understanding of the roles available within the industry, and how to access them"
"I loved and love, being connected to a group of Young Black Artists, as spaces like these are not very common for people of ethnic backgrounds between the ages of 16-21, but are massively needed, and the Black Excellence project 100% proves this. In addition, being part of The Yard is a massive community and I felt completely safe and comfortable throughout the project"
“Doing drama helps me a lot and taught me not to be afraid”
“Being at The Yard for the past couple of years I’ve felt massively supported by all staff and specifically the local team who I’ve formed a really positive relationship with over these years.”
“I have more time to express my feelings and to talk about school life."
“Before we came to the project we didn’t have anywhere to hang out after school. It was boring! We don’t go to any other clubs as my mum can’t afford to pay for extracurricular activities. Now I like that I can hang out with my friends and family after school to play and make. My mum also enjoys coming to the Yard's community Hub as she can work on her homework for college and chat to her friends.”
"My students have learnt so much from attending The Yard. Not only have they matured as young people, they have gained a wealth of knowledge about the work The Yard does in the community, broadening their understanding of the creative industry. They always talk about The Yard with passion and I know they really enjoy everything they do there, as if it’s a little family!” - Teacher at Chobham School
Last but certainly not least: Meet the wonderful Heavadny from our Black Excellence at Nighttime collective, launched in 2021 and get a behind-the-scenes peek....
"Since being on the Yard's Black Excellence programme I've felt more ready for employment within the Arts, and I have a much better understanding of the roles available within the industry, and how to access them. Amongst many other things I’ve learnt how to adapt to working with others creatively. For example, in the development stages of our event, as a group, we came up with multiple ideas of what our event could be, and the elements it could include.
As a collective, we had an array of ideas, but narrowing it down, and finding a balance of what the group wanted to do and what hit the aims for our event was difficult. Communication was definitely key and I tried my best to listen and understand what everyone’s ideas were, whilst also communicating what I also thought would work.
During the programme, I was also given the opportunity to deliver workshops for the Yard's production of SAMSKARA to schools in the surrounding area, with a professional performing artist. Delivering these workshops was a great opportunity as I built on my facilitation skills. Since these workshops, I have been able to maintain a relationship with the artist, which has been beneficial to my personal development and career. Whilst on this programme I was also supported by The Yard when applying for jobs, and I was very well prepared for Interviews, which helped me find new employment that I am now securely in!"
As a final treat, enjoy this behind-the-scenes peek at the last project the group worked on, shot and edited by, Black Excellence at Nighttime member the very talented Hallie Primus.
Thank you for your support. And please help us even more by sharing widely!