Words of Kindness are a Gift for Local Charity
Amble Youth Project has received a substantial cash donation, all thanks to a poem about kindness.
Lara Young, CEO of AYP with Ali Rowland, Karen and Nick Gibbs
The donation of £2,000 was made by The Benefact Group, a financial services organisation which gives all its profit to charitable causes.
The Benefact Group held a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on 3 June to celebrate having given £250 million to good causes. They asked local poet Ali Rowland if they could use her poem “Kindnesses” during the service. In lieu of a fee for this, they offered to make a donation to a charity of Ali’s choosing.
“It was a huge surprise to have my poem, which had previously been published in an anthology, picked as a keynote for the celebration. I hadn’t even heard of the Benefact Group before, or of the amazing work they do. Having a poem read out at St Paul’s Cathedral to a huge audience is something writers can only dream of” said Ali, “but the best part of all was being able to help a local charity in the important work they do for young people.”
The service included dancers from The Royal Ballet School performing to a specially commissioned piece of music by composer Alexis Ffrench, and Ali’s poem was read by former TV presenter and Chair of The Royal Ballet School, Natasha Kaplinsky.
The poem “Kindnesses” uses the metaphor of falling leaves to describe how kind acts can touch many people, and the service included a special gold petal drop to symbolise this.
Amble Youth Project, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year has a mission to help young people “grow well and shine” and offers social, educational and leadership initiatives. Lara Young, CEO of the charity, attended the event at St Paul’s on Ali’s behalf.
Lara said, ‘The service was an amazing experience. Over 1800 people were there, and the use of Ali’s poem and the testimonies from the charities involved made for a very moving and unique experience.”
“We are thrilled to receive this very generous donation which we can use amongst other things to support the ongoing transformation of the Youth Group’s allotment on Percy Drive.”
Ali said, “I wanted the donation to go somewhere where it would make a substantial difference, and I know that’s the case with the Youth Project. Young people face unprecedented challenges in these troubled times, and the allotment is the ideal place to both teach them about the importance of the environment and introduce them to a pastime which it’s shown can have positive effects on mental health.”
“Climate justice is something I’m very passionate about, and a lot of my writing is about nature and our coastal landscape. I can’t think of a better use of this money which I think will have a lasting benefit in Amble for generations to come. It’s amazing what a little bit of kindness can do.”
“I’ll be performing the poem myself at a reading at Bridge Street Books on the 16th July at 7pm. I expect the audience to be slightly smaller then!”
