News Story
Celebrating five years supporting local families with free school holiday lunches and arts activities
This October half term marks five years since the beginning of The Theatre's free school holiday lunches programme supporting local families on low incomes.
We currently support approximately 170 young people with food vouchers and arts activities every school holiday, but the true success of the programme is how many families are now accessing all that the theatre has to offer.
The programme has provided over 19,000 packed lunches, or the equivalent to local families. We invite families back each holiday for free creative activities, workshops, family films and opportunities to experience live theatre, often for the first time.
They also get the chance to try out drama workshops and get on stage. It’s wonderful to see the young people flourish, developing skills, creativity and most importantly growing more confident. For many, we have been lucky to be able to build a long-term relationship with the arts by offering a place in our Youth Theatre with a Tony and Judith Yarrow Bursary.
The holiday food programme is the foundation of our community work, providing an opportunity for families and young people to build a relationship with The Theatre whilst also addressing the issues of rural poverty, isolation and poor mental health impacting many families and young people in our local area. It is now part of a much wider community programme, working in schools, playgrounds, carehomes with people of all ages using the arts to build confidence, resilience, communication skills and support better mental health and wellbeing.
How are these projects funded?
All The Theatre’s community work is funded by grants and donations from local organisations, trusts and individuals. The Free School holiday meals programme has been supported by Wise Investments for the last five years, as well as Chipping Norton Town Council, Aldi and individual donations.
Our Corporate partners play a key role in enabling us to continue to support our communities in this way, and we are able to offer some great benefits in return. To find out more contact fundraising@chippingnortontheatre.com