I was recently contacted by Sally Goldsmith, a local poet, who along
with a group of friends is putting on a fundraising event for ASSIST
Sheffield.  The idea of putting on an all-day poetry reading event
appealed to me because it involves an art form I love, and because it
invites lots of people to get involved in a creative, democratic,
supportive enterprise.  Community is important - whether it is a group
of poets coming together or a wider collective of people, society itself
 - to help others out.  The Sheffield Poem-a-thon will raise money for
ASSIST who support refused asylum seekers here in the city of Sheffield.
  These asylum seekers are not allowed to work, to register themselves
as homeless or to be placed in local authority night shelters. Many
become destitute, struggling daily for food, accommodation and clothing.
 ASSIST says that:

£5 could cover expenses for a weekend’s hospitality for an asylum seeker in need of somewhere to sleep
£17 could cover travel expenses to enable an asylum seeker to get to medical and legal appointments
£20 could give a vulnerable asylum seeker a week’s ASSIST grant to enable them to buy some food

On
 2nd April, we have a lovely venue for our Poem-a-thon - the Art House
in Backfields - with its own cafe in the city centre. Entry is free and
50 poets will be reading from 10am - 6pm. There will be a bookstall, a
tombola with great prizes, tea, coffee, cakes. Please sponsor me or any
of the other poets in our team. Any other cash raised through sales on
the day will go to charities supporting refugees stranded just across
the Channel in Northern France.