100 Poems for 100 People

Donate £10 to Stepping Stones charity preschool, and I’ll write you a 100% bespoke poem!

Poems are great for:

- a gift for the person who has everything

- a way to express a thought or feeling you have, when you don’t have the right words

- a way to tell someone how you feel about them in a personal way

- a nice companion to a piece of artwork

- a life-motto to encourage you

- just something fun to have!

I’m aiming to write 100 poems for 100 people (and I might even make them into a book to sell and raise MORE money for this incredible charity)

How it works:

1. donate £10

2. fill out this google form with what you want me to write about (it can be as serious or as silly as you like) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYvnCnaTTNvLNjI1A9MpzorbnywNQm-eL_fMAqAQ96b7dIPQ/

3. I’ll send you a first draft

4. Tell me what you want to change

5. I’ll send you the final poem

Why Stepping Stones is important to me:

My 4 year old, Ezra, has attended Stepping Stones since he was two years old. It is a childcare setting like no other.

Stepping Stones is not your classic nursery. It’s not simply somewhere to drop off your child and see them again in a few hours. It’s not a soulless money making machine.

Stepping Stones is a small local charity that provides children in Canterbury a nurturing, safe, creative space to explore, learn, and grow.

The team is made up of 6 remarkable women who dedicate their heart and souls to the flourishing of these little lives.

The preschool rents a local church hall and every day unpacks toys, furniture, and resources to create a wonderland for the children to enjoy. The garden is a firm favourite, where children can play in every weather.

The preschool supports a number of children with special educational needs, ensuring that 2-4 year olds of all abilities have access to a high quality preschool experience.

Ezra is particularly keen on playing in the sand shed, getting messy with paint, swinging on the sensory swing, and joining in with sign-and-rhyme. He absolutely adores all the staff and constantly talks about them. He asks to go to preschool every day, even weekends. He has so many lovely friends and our family feels deeply connected to this community.

Why am I raising money?

The last few years have seen the Early Years sector absolutely obliterated by the government. There’s the rub.

A small local charity preschool like Stepping Stones can’t survive without external funding.

Did you know that while many children aged 2-5 are entitled to hours and hours of “free” childcare, the government funding doesn’t even cover the fees required for a child? Stepping Stones has to cover this difference somehow, in order to provide “free” hours to families.

And while Stepping Stones has secured some brilliant funding, its individual giving that really keeps this preschool afloat.

I want to see this preschool thrive for years to come. Ezra will start primary school in September, but I will continue to volunteer for Stepping Stones as a trustee because I believe in their mission SO MUCH.

Stepping Stones is special. Canterbury needs Stepping Stones. The local families need Stepping Stones. The children need Stepping Stones.

I will not see it shut down over something as frustrating as money. Not on my watch.

Why Poetry?

So while I’m not physically able to run a marathon, do a “tough mudder” or climb a mountain … and I have too much self-respect to get into a bath full of baked beans or get covered in slime … I CAN use my writing skills to help this wonderful charity.

So, give Stepping Stones a tenner, and I’ll give you a fully bespoke poem.

Maybe you’ll give it as a birthday present? Maybe you’ll express your feelings for someone you fancy? Maybe you’ll enjoy something to encourage and lift your spirits on a bad day? Maybe you’ll want to see if I can turn the most nonsensical brief into a poem. I’m up for the challenge.

100 people. 100 poems. Let’s do this!