It's Hackney Marathon time again! Once again, I'm trying to raise funds for the bloody marvellous Hackney Shed. They do the most amazing, inclusive, thoughtful, young-person-led, genuinely empowering work, and I think they're absolute heroes.

At a time where most of my own young people have basically opted out of almost everything, their weekly sessions at Shed are the shining light in their week. This isn't by chance - HS is run by some really talented and thoughtful people.

Funding must always be a nightmare for these kind of organisations, so please give generously, both for my young people's sake, and for the many many other young people who benefit so much from their excellence.

Their blurb:

Hackney Shed is an inclusive theatre group in Hackney for young people under 26. We have 4 different groups and run regular outreach and partnership workshops and masterclasses. Our groups are open to everyone, but we have a strong focus on welcoming Disabled and Neurodivergent young people as well as those with other access needs. All our projects are “donate what you can” so that we are financially accessible to everyone. During the course of a year Hackney Shed works with over 400 children, young people and volunteers as part of our activities.

Our approach breaks down misunderstanding and develops strong bonds between young people with vastly mixed abilities. We teach our members to explore their imagination, characterisation and creative use of language, as well as fostering speaking and listening skills, which will support them in everyday life.

Many of our participants do not have the opportunity to access this kind of creative theatre work any other way.