In the last few years demand for our work has continued to grow whilst funding has become more and more difficult to secure, and everything has become so much more expensive!
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We work with thousands of children and young people every year, mostly in the North East and we are reliant on securing grants and fundraising to keep going. Our work engages, enables, and empowers young people through creative projects to grow and evolve, whilst existing as an early intervention; providing safe spaces to scaffold towards good mental health and a positive future. We are firmly committed to making our youth theatre activities, youth projects, digital content and performances free to access or very low-cost to ensure everyone can enjoy them.

It takes a lot of resource to run Mortal Fools young people’s programmes whilst offering high quality meaningful creative experiences to our young people; from hiring experienced staff who share our values to creating high quality, inclusive events, performances and films, to offering pastoral and mental health support to our young people when they need it- it all adds up.

We hate asking for donations at a time when things are so tough, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and we know, many in our community are not in a position to donate or fundraise right now (and that’s ok – we totally understand)!

However, we wanted to highlight across this blog post, the ways that you – our wonderful Mortal Fools community, can help us – through donating, fundraising for us, championing our work, advocacy and more! Read on!

Donating directly

Donating directly is one of the easiest and most impactful ways for an individual to support our work as a children’s charity supporting North East young people. You can become a regular donor or make a one-off donation and every little helps.

You can play an important part in the futures of children and young people during an incredibly challenging time, when the demand for our work and support is increasing. By donating or financially supporting Mortal Fools, together we can make a tangible difference and positively impact the lives of young people.

Easy Fundraising

This remarkable tool means every time you shop online you can earn money for Mortal Fools at no extra cost to you. Easyfundraising partners with over 7,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice: brands like ADSA, eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos, ASOS and Booking.com.

In just a few minutes you can set up an Easy Fundraising account and start fundraising for Mortal Fools. Click here to register – and make sure you select Mortal Fools as your chosen cause to fund raise for.

By downloading the Chrome extension to your browser or the app to your phone, you’ll be surprised by how much you can raise through your regular shopping and their inbuilt donation reminder.
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So far, we’ve raised £840.49- can you help us reach £1000? 

​Fundraising Challenges
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Take on a fundraising challenge for Mortal Fools. This is a fantastic way to raise money by doing something you love, or by setting yourself an ambitious goal and the options are endless…
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• Take on an active challenge such as the Great North Run or a sponsored cycle.
• Bring your friends together with a sponsored quiz, art exhibition or open mic night.
• Get your community involved with a sponsored bake sale.
• Or keep it simple by selling unwanted items on eBay or Vinted and donating the money to us at Mortal Fools.

​To discuss ideas, get in touch with [email protected]. We’ll be more than happy to support you and help you get the word out!

​Through your Workplace
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Businesses are increasingly interested in aligning their organisation's values with those of their customers and staff. This often means supporting charities through funding, promoting and incentivising staff to volunteer.

Many businesses want to hear from employees at all career stages about what matters to them, so why not recommend Mortal Fools to your employer or nominate us through a workplace initiative, such as Charity of the Year?

There are many benefits to investing in Mortal Fools as a local Northumberland-based charity that is helping to tackle the youth mental health crisis, improve access to the arts and develop workplace skills for young people.

And if your workplace only works with charities signed up to a specific scheme – sign post us to the scheme and we can register! Drop [email protected] an email and let’s chat!

Gifting a MELVA license

​MELVA: mental health and wellbeing education through storytelling

Businesses and individuals can sponsor MELVA & give the gift of mental health education through storytelling to primary school settings for academic year 2024/25.

For businesses passionate about ESG and evidencing corporate social responsibility, MELVA is a tangible, measurable and high impact way to demonstrate an investment in children and local communities.

Individual schools can purchase MELVA for £750 per academic year but in the contemporary landscape of ever-changing school budgets, sector cuts, increasing children’s needs and worsening mental health, the cost of the programme can be prohibitive for many settings.

By sponsoring MELVA, businesses can place this effective, high impact mental health resource directly into the hands of the children who need it most.

MELVA is used in over 65 North East schools, which has been made possible through generous corporate sponsorship from the likes of Ryder Architecture and Muckle LLP
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Check out our guide to MELVA for businesses and professionals:

Commissioning our CONNECT training

​CONNECT is our training and professional development programme for organisations, teams, and individuals.

By commissioning CONNECT training you not only receive high-quality training in areas like leadership, communication, presentation skills and resilience, you also help fund our work with young people, as all the income goes directly back into our young people’s programmes!

If you’re connected to a business or organisation – you could commission our training, you could book yourself on to one of our open sessions as an individual or you could download our training brochure from our website and recommend us into your network or to the leadership in your organisation!
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Our CONNECT training uses a unique combination of techniques from actor training, theatre practice, business development theory, and the social sciences to lead participants through a practical training process of identifying personal strengths, increasing knowledge, and
developing new skills. In addition to training – we also run-away days and team development days!

​As an active member of our Mortal Fools community

If you're unable to donate or support us financially, you can support us in a variety of other ways at no cost:
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1. Attend our shows and events – this is such an important, but often overlooked way of supporting us as a charity!
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2. Follow us on social media and share our news updates and digital content as it launches.
   You can catch us across social media:
   
   Click here to find us on Facebook @mortalfoolsUK
   Click here to find us on Instagram @mortalfoolsuk
   Click here to find us on Twitter @mortalfoolsUK
   Click here to find us on LinkedIn @mortalfools
   Click here to find us on YouTube @mortalfools6046
   
   
3. Champion our work and programmes to others in your personal (and professional!) network!
   
   
4. If you spy some funding, a news update or something related to children and young people, that you think might be of interest to Team Mortal Fools – tells us about it or tag us on social media!
   
   
5. On social media and via our mailing list, we often put out requests to vote for us for an award or for funding, just taking a few minutes to vote for us can help us unlock further funding or help raise our profile!

BIG THANK YOU!

We can’t thank our Mortal Fools community enough for championing our work and helping us help our members. We couldn’t do it without you!
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If you’d like to find out more about what your contribution can support, have a look at the inspiring case studies and helpful reports and guides on ‘Our Impact’ page. 
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You can also download our Impact Report too – which gives a great summary of our work across 2023! 

The run-up to the General Election is a nerve-wracking time where we start to understand our politicians’ differing visions of the future and are given the power to make the best choice for ourselves and our community.

The General Election is our chance to decide who we want to represent us in Parliament. In each area of the country (called a ‘constituency’), all eligible people aged 18 or over can vote for their Member of Parliament (MP).  Whoever is elected in your area will be an MP for up to five years. The election is an important opportunity to decide who will represent you in the House of Commons and take actions to make a real difference to you and your community.  Voting for your local MP also has an impact on who runs the country.
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With just a few short weeks to go before the election, it’s important that we take time to listen, learn and reflect on what really matters to us. In the last general election in 2019, less than half of those aged 18 to 24 voted. (That’s in comparison to almost three quarters of those aged 65 and over.) Voting is an important way to ensure that young people's concerns and experiences are considered by people in power.

 
Political decisions that are made today will impact the present and future lives of young people across the country, but we are concerned that their voices are often absent from the conversations and decision making.

If you’re curious about learning more about The Election or voting for the first time, Neurodiverse Connection have created a simplified guide to voting. This guide sets out the different way to vote and how to register in all areas of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the different deadlines for doing so. Download Neurodiverse Connection simplified guide to voting by clicking here.

In this blog post, we will share some ways our Mortal Fools community can learn about the issues that directly affect young people AND we will share some ways that young people can make sure their voices are heard in this election period and beyond!
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For Adults (over 18s), here are a few suggestions as to how you can learn about young people’s ideas:

Read The Youth Parliament Manifesto

The UK Youth Parliament Manifesto has been created by youth representatives (Aged 11-19) from across the country. It clearly outlines the beliefs and priorities of young people and covers nearly every topic relevant to this election from education to inclusivity and from the climate crisis to the treatment of refugees. This document shows that young people are capable of understanding complex topics and presenting their beliefs in an eloquent and persuasive way, and it’s time we started listening: Click here to access the Youth Parliament Manifesto!

Watch the Our Generation, Our Vote project

Our Generation, Our Vote is a large-scale political literacy programme developed by a coalition of children's charities and organisations. They encourage schools and youth groups around the country to take part in age-appropriate activities to help them learn about politics and our voting system. The project concludes with participants taking part in a mock election.
On Friday 28th June the results of the mock election will be announced via Sky Kids and First News. For the first time, we will be able to see how a broad cross-section of young people would vote, and we can choose to take their opinions into account when we hit the polls on the 4th July.
Find out more about Our Generation, Our Vote by clicking here.

Read the YMCA General Election Manifesto: Now’s our chance

YMCA England and Wales have produced a manifesto in consultation with young people outlining five key areas they believe should be on the agenda at this general election: Youth Services, Housing And Homelessness, Cost Of Living, Wellbeing, and Education. As one of the largest youth charities in the UK, they have developed strong relationships with young people around the country and are well-placed to represent their interests. 
Check out the YMCA General Election Manifesto by clicking here.

Talk to the young people in your life!
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This may sound obvious but the best way you will understand what young people in your area think and need is by talking to them. Tell them about what’s going on in the election campaigns and ask them what they think about different policies that will affect their lives and futures. You may be surprised by what you learn.
Resources like #ChildrenAtTheTable might be helpful in scaffolding conversations – click here to download.

 
For Young People: here’s how you can get involved in Politics and make your voice heard

Vote

If you can vote….make sure you do! It’s important to vote in every election. You can register to vote by clicking here.
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Give an X is a youth-led, non-partisan youth voter registration campaign designed to get every single young person registered to vote and into polling booths for the next election. To connect with Give an X and to check out their advice guidance about voting, click here!

Download an election resource

Children’s Society have pulled together everything you need to know to get involved in the election – and beyond. This guide is relevant if you’re 18 or over and eligible to vote, and they’ve also included information for under-18s about how to make your voice heard. Download Children’s Society Election Resource by clicking here.

Democracy Classroom have lots of digital resources that give an overview of some of basics about understanding UK Parliament, how the Government works, our political system, democracy, voting etc. Browse the Democracy Classroom resources by clicking here.

Talk to people

Talking to people is often the most meaningful way to share what is important to you and learn about different views. You will find many people of all ages are fascinated by politics and enjoy hearing about new ideas and perspectives.

Support a charity campaign

There are many charities and organisations that use their platform to campaign for change. You can help them by sharing their campaigns online, signing their petitions or contributing your story about how an issue has affected you.

There are so many charities out there and we recommend you do your own research and find a campaign that really speaks to you. If you’re looking for a place to start here are three large charities that have the power to influence politicians and amplify the voices of everyday people:

• Trussell Trust campaigns for the elimination of food poverty in the UK.
• Shelter campaigns for affordable housing for everyone and better rights for UK renters.
• Stonewall aims to protect the rights of all LGBT+ people in the UK
  

We hope this post has given you some ideas of how we can work together to meaningfully include young people’s voices in this election.

If you can vote, register by the 18th June 11.59pm by clicking here and following the simple instructions.

And get down to your local polling station on the 4th July! It’s vital that we get as many people out voting as possible, so spread the word to friends, neighbours, colleagues, family members and everyone else in your life.
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See you there!

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