Tag: Corporate Partners

British Land on why they support our programme for young carers, art:space

Posted on September 23, 2021 by - Blogs, Stories

art space

BRITISH LAND ON WHY THEY SUPPORT OUR PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG CARERS, ART:SPACE

Since 2007, we have been helping to change the lives of young carers in Camden, Hackney and Westminster through our art:space programme thanks to funding from British Land. Here, the company’s Charity & Volunteer Executive, Jo Hammond talks about the partnership:

“British Land is one of Europe’s largest real estate investment trusts. I work with our corporate-level charity and community partners and with teams at our properties around the UK to encourage community investment activities. We recognise that our business activities have wide-ranging impact, which can affect the lives of a significant number of people. We aim to be the best neighbour we can be. The young carers projects we fund are in the London boroughs where our key office properties are based – Camden, Hackney and Westminster.

We started working with Create back in 2003. Then in 2007, the charity forged a partnership with Westminster Young Carers Service and ran a creative writing and photography project entitled Who Am I?. It was a great success, so we’ve been working with the charity on similar projects ever since. art:space allows the young carers to get a break from their caring responsibilities and spend time with others in their situation, forming relationships, developing communication skills and building confidence and self-esteem, whilst, importantly, having fun.

Create works with professional artists who are carefully vetted, so I can be confident that those delivering the projects are the best people for the job. The quality of their project delivery is fantastic, and the Create team are incredibly committed to their work – they can be truly inspiring. When I visit the projects it’s always great to meet the young people and see first-hand some of the benefits. I’ve visited a variety of projects over the years and the young people are always incredibly engaged as they are so well put together – it’s wonderful to see them having some time to be children and be made to feel special. For our next set of workshops, we are focusing on using the artworks at our Head Office and the public art at our other estates in London. I can’t wait to learn what’s in store!”

This piece was written in 2012.

Debbie from RBS Group volunteers at one of our flagship projects

Posted on August 17, 2021 by - Blogs, Stories

changing spaces

Debbie from RBS Group volunteers at one of our flagship projects

changing spaces

Debbie works at RBS Group and volunteered for one of Create’s flagship CR projects, changing:spaces, at Lucas Vale Primary School.

changing:spaces combined participants’ creativity and imagination with the skills and energy of Create’s professional artist, writer and corporate volunteers to transform a bleak and bare four storey staircase within the school. First, the children at Lucas Vale Primary spent a week working alongside a writer and artist from Create to come up with designs for the four different levels: under the sea, a land of delights, the sky and outer space. They envisioned disco dancing animals under the sea; dragons warming the first floor with their fiery breath; silver unicorn sunning themselves on the second floor; and, on the top floor, sparkly planets and spaceships shooting off between the stars! The corporate volunteers, together with Create’s artist, then painted the staircase using the children’s drawings and ideas.

“When I first heard about the RBS group project to paint the Lucas Vale Elementary School, I wanted to participate, because I was sure it would make a difference for the children/teachers who attend that school, and I was happily surprised when I was able to do so despite the fact that I live in Paris and the school is situated in London. I immediately imagined myself painting the walls of the school from floor to ceiling (you know, up down, up down, that kind of movement with a big brush/roller – they said talent was not a prerequisite), and I admit that I was quite nervous when I found out that we were expected to recreate the children’s drawings on the walls. I don’t know how I missed that small detail.

Anyhow, your artists had done all of the preliminary work for us by the time we got there, and they advised us on colour choices etc., so it turned out to be quite a user-friendly experience after all. Also, the other volunteers were so much fun that I just went with the flow and ended up really enjoying myself.

Despite my evident shortcomings in the artistic painting realm, I would renew this experience if the opportunity were to arise again, because more children deserve to have a good laugh like the one these kids will probably have every time they see my jellyfishes and/or Alan’s mermaid in the stairwell that leads to their playground. I had great fun!!!

Thank you to all those who made the experience possible!”