Magic Me

That’s a wrap! Our 2024 Big Give Christmas Challenge has come to an end, and together we have raised an incredible £32,051. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to every single person who donated, shared, or supported us during this campaign. Thanks to your generosity – and the power of double-donations through the Big Give – Magic Me is excited to look ahead to 2025 with big plans to continue our mission. Your support means we can keep tackling loneliness, fostering connection, and bridging the gap between generations through our creative workshops and projects. From intergenerational arts sessions to storytelling and collaborative community events, your kindness will make all the difference. We know these are challenging times for many, and we’re truly humbled by the extraordinary generosity of our supporters this year. You’ve helped to bring connection, creativity, and joy to so many people across Tower Hamlets and beyond. Thank you for being part of the Magic Me community – we couldn’t do this without you. Here’s to a bright and connected 2025! 

Thank you to all the amazing donors - some familiar, some new, some anonymous, many from The Childhood Trust - who have been contributing to We'll Be Grand, our Big Give Christmas Fundraising Challenge all this week. We're at £27,352 - 85% of our target, and we couldn’t be more excited for the year ahead! We worked out the impact of your donations … ◼️ £12 donation pays for a taxi for an older participant to be brought to an arts session ◼️ £25 pays for tea and biscuits at Creative Mix gatherings at our Pott Street home ◼️ £60 buys fabric for a weaving project ◼️ £115 provides art materials for a care home creativity box ◼️ £160 pays a month's worth of materials for our Creative Mix community groups ◼️ £300 helps one of our Associate Artists lead an arts session for older and younger people ◼️ £700 provides a film-maker to collaborate with our schools and local audiences … so now we're getting a good idea of how we're going to be able to support our participants throughout 2025. Remember, your donations help us deliver our arts activities which in turn increase our participants' wellbeing, combat loneliness, build communities, challenge ageism and bring joy. The donation portal closes at noon tomorrow, so there is still time to donate. Every pound you give us is matched by the Big Give. You give us a fiver, we receive a tenner - it's the best time all year to make a donation to us. This, from one of our older participants, sums up why we do what we do: 'Before I came here I felt not wanted. It’s a very deep thing to be wanted'. Please help people feel those deep feelings, and finish our campaign with a flourish. Donate here https://lnkd.in/esT_CP9r and We'll (All) Be Grand!

Magic Me's Big Give Fundraising Challenge Starts Today! Magic Me's Big Give Fundraising Challenge Starts Today! We're telling you twice because every pound we raise this week counts twice. The Big Give matches every pound that the public donates - so for everyone who gives us a fiver during this challenge period, we receive a tenner. One donation, double the impact! Magic Me is a charity connecting isolated older people with younger generations through arts activities. We run creative sessions in our Bethnal Green home, out in the Tower Hamlets community and in care homes across London and Essex. We'll Be Grand, our Christmas fundraising campaign, supports our work to increase wellbeing, combat loneliness, build communities, challenge ageism and bring joy. Donations of any size help us run the arts sessions that get people out of the house and into the world. Christmas is a time for celebrating with friends: this year, you can help an isolated person find their own friendship and celebration. Today is #GivingTuesday, the first day of our Campaign. Would you like to get the ball rolling with a donation? https://lnkd.in/esT_CP9r. 

'Thanks very much for having me, I really enjoyed it. The kids are so funny. This is one of the first times I have been out this year.' That was a message from one of the older participants in a Magic Me art session. It reminds us why we do what we do: our inspiring and inquisitive arts activities combat loneliness and build strong community links between older and younger people. Christmas is coming, and we're writing our list for Santa. To raise money for our participants' art activities (to pay for paper, paint and people) we are taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge. Generous pledgers have already committed money to the campaign, and The Childhood Trust have signed up with some very welcome additional funding. Every £1 that the public donates to our charity gets doubled by The Big Give. One donation, double the impact! The Campaign runs from 3-10 December, and you can read all about it here https://lnkd.in/esT_CP9r By supporting our Big Give 2024 Campaign with a donation, you will bring the magic of the arts to younger and older people in our home community of Tower Hamlets, east London. Every penny donated will support our team of specialist artists, photographers, poets and puppeteers to work with mixed groups in regular creative workshops. The need in our community has never been greater. The loneliness and isolation of the lockdown years has dented the confidence of our older and younger generations. With your help we can work together with them to reconnect with neighbours, find joy in creativity and share the talents and voices of these Grand people with audiences close to home and way beyond. Support our Big Give appeal this year and 'We'll Be Grand'!

Her Story, Our Inspiration: A celebration of inspirational women across generations. We’re excited to share our latest short film, Her Story, Our Inspiration, now available to watch on our website! This powerful film unites students from Mulberry School for Girls and CONNAUGHT SCHOOL FOR GIRLS with older women from Tower Hamlets to explore the legacies of women who inspire us and the challenges they have faced - and overcome - across generations. Over six weeks of creative workshops led by filmmaker Chuck Blue Lowry and poet Laila Sumpton, this intergenerational group shared stories, ideas, and reflections. Together, they highlight the resilience and determination needed to keep advocating for women's rights and celebrating women’s achievements. This project reflects Magic Me’s mission to foster connection and understanding through the arts, supported by Arts Council England. Don’t miss this celebration of women’s voices, past and present. Visit our website to watch the full film and get inspired: https://lnkd.in/gn5cptNU

Looking to make a real impact in the East London community? Fancy using your skills to help bridge generations through creative arts? If so, Magic Me is looking for you! We’re on the hunt for new Trustees to join our Board and guide us in continuing our mission to connect generations through the arts. Whether you have experience in project/programme management, fundraising, or creative arts, your expertise will play a key role in enhancing our programmes and reaching more people. We’re especially keen to hear from those from racially minoritised backgrounds, individuals under 30 or over 50, and people with lived experience in East London. No prior Trustee experience? No problem—we offer full training, mentorship, and support! As a Trustee, you’ll: ◼️ Help shape our strategic direction ◼️ Champion our values of creativity, inclusivity, collaboration, and thoughtfulness ◼️ Work with fellow Trustees and staff to challenge ageism and foster positive change through intergenerational projects. Ready to make a difference? Head to our website to learn more and apply! https://lnkd.in/evADmzHG

We think a lot about memory at Magic Me. Delivering our arts programmes in care homes, we are often working with residents whose memories have been affected by age and illness, so we devise activities which are properly meaningful for people with those varying degrees of memory impairment. When we put together our intergenerational community projects for under 18s and over 60s, we are conscious that everyone has a past, a present and an imagination. We don’t just expect our older participants to consider their lifetimes’ experiences and pass them down to our younger participants. We want our 7 year olds to tell our 82 year olds about their memories and capture them in a piece of art - and likewise, the 82 year olds to formulate their ideas for the future with the 7 year olds. This week is Remember A Charity in Your Will Week. As part of our long term legacy fundraising strategy, we are unfolding a gentle social media campaign during this week with memory at its heart. ‘Remember when?’ we ask, posting images and reflections of some our most successful past programmes, and tagging in Remember A Charity #RememberACharityWeek #legacy #giftsinWills. We then connect people to our own legacy information page and the practical details involved in naming a charity in your will. Find out more about Remember a Charity Week here: https://lnkd.in/dxp9cdb And find our legacy information page here: https://lnkd.in/e8ig8Kj3 To see what we've been up to on our socials this week, follow us on all channels @MagicMeArts

The beginning of this week marked #SmallCharityWeek, and we’ve been taking the time to reflect on the powerful contributions small charities make to a fairer and more inclusive country. 96% of all UK charities are small charities, offering vital services to local communities, so to round up the week we’ve asked David Russell, our wonderful Chair of Trustees, for his ideas about how people can support Magic Me and other small charities making a difference this #SmallCharityWeek. 1. Come and volunteer: our projects thrive on the dedication of volunteers. Whether you can commit to a regular schedule or help with a one-off event, volunteers’ time is really helpful for us and a nice way to meet good people https://bit.ly/3z7hgxx 2. Help with a donation: financial contributions, no matter the size, help us bring the arts to more children and older people. We are so grateful to our regular donors and to those who chip in to the Big Give Christmas Challenge and other fundraising events. https://lnkd.in/etndn_Qh 3. Get the word out: share and talk about our stories with your friends and colleagues. Raising awareness about Magic Me helps us reach more people and attract the support we need. Find us on Insta and Twitter at MagicMeArts, or sign up to our newsletter https://bit.ly/3VH8RKf “As we celebrate #SmallCharityWeek let’s remember that the impact of small charities like Magic Me extends far beyond this week. Our work is ongoing, and our need for support is continuous. By coming together as a community, we can ensure that Magic Me and other small charities continue to thrive, making a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve.” #LoveYourSmallCharity