Fearne Cotton and The Prince’s Trust have teamed up to launch The Great Create; a new fundraising initiative supported by STAEDTLER to boost young people’s wellbeing.
Together with Fearne Cotton and her Happy Place initiative, youth charity The Prince’s Trust is asking everyone to host their own Great Create parties during the month of March. The idea is to spend time with friends, family and colleagues and have a go at making something together, to discover how good it feels to get creative while raising vital funds to help young people improve their mental wellbeing.
Fearne Cotton, Prince’s Trust Goodwill Ambassador for wellbeing, says:
“By hosting a Great Create party with all your favourite people, you can enjoy the benefits of spending time being creative together; helping your own wellbeing while also raising funds to help the wellbeing of young people.
“The Great Create is all about giving yourself, and your friends, the time and space to talk, laugh and share what’s on your mind – all of which is made easier when you’ve got a creative activity to get stuck into.
You don’t need any experience in arts or crafts to get involved and we’ve got loads of resources to help you plan your party – if you visit the Great Create website you’ll find plenty there to get you started.”
From upcycling t-shirts to painting plant pots, Great Create hosts can take inspiration from a range of step-by-step activity packs or come up with their own ideas for making something amazing. The downloadable packs have been personally curated by Fearne and written by young people who have been supported by The Trust. One of the packs includes an activity led by Fearne.
Tara Leathers, Deputy CEO and Director of Fundraising at The Prince’s Trust, says:
“A growing number of the young people who reach out to The Prince’s Trust for help tell us they’re struggling with their mental health. We don’t want any of these young people to face the crippling pressures of things like anxiety or depression alone and are determined to ensure they don’t have to.
“Every penny raised through The Great Create will help more young people to improve their wellbeing. Your donations will fund art therapy workshops, counselling services and other wellbeing support, all giving young people the opportunities to build their confidence, make new friends and learn new skills. Everyone who takes part will make a huge difference to young people in need of support.”
Fearne adds: “Having seen one of The Trust’s art therapy workshops in action, I know what an amazing impact they’re having on young people. I’m so happy to be spearheading a project that will open up these workshops and other incredible opportunites to even more young people, so that they can experience the benefits for themselves.
The whole Prince’s Trust experience can work wonders for young people’s confidence and self-esteem, and I’d encourage anyone who might benefit from their support to get in touch with them.”
Philip Wesolowski, Managing Director at STAEDTLER UK, says:
“In a world where looking after our mental health and encouraging wellbeing are arguably more important than ever, we are extremely excited at the possibility of helping a generation of young people to gain confidence, manage their feelings of anxiousness and become happier.
Growing up and trying to discover your identity in a time where social media, fake news and reality TV dominate, isn’t easy, even for adults, and the anxieties that come with that can be crippling.
With our research showing that children’s biggest fear is being bullied both on and offline , we want to demonstrate the positive effect that creativity can have on wellbeing and reducing feelings of unhappiness and symptoms of anxiety and depression.”
Research suggests that young people in the UK experienced record levels of anxiety last year and that overall happiness levels flatlined at their lowest ever point. With the support of Great Create hosts all over the UK, The Prince’s Trust will do everything it can to give more vulnerable young people the support they need to move forwards with their lives.
Search ‘The Great Create’ online to sign up and find out how you can support more Prince’s Trust courses that support young people’s wellbeing.
