The Empower London Foundation has announced a new round of charity partnerships. They will team up with four new charities – including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – that will be recipients of funds raised at their upcoming The London Festival.
Celebrating London’s history, arts, culture, and innovation, the festival will be one of the biggest fundraiser events to hit the Capital. The event aims to raise money for Empower London Foundation’s educational programmes and support schemes for entrepreneurs and Greater London communities.
Four key charities to be introduced in the new round of partnerships:
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Inspires a love of reading by gifting books to children, free of charge, regardless of their family’s income.
Provides support, art, and culture to children with additional needs.
Is a mentoring charity that offers one-to-one support to young people from disadvantaged communities.
Helps families of seriously ill children to keep moving forward by offering tailored support in hospital and at home.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship programme of The Dollywood Foundation UK, founded by legendary singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and humanitarian Dolly Parton. She began the programme in 1995, inspired by her father’s inability to read or write. The aim was to share a love of reading and learning with children of all backgrounds. Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, books are mailed to children from birth to age 5, free of charge, regardless of their family’s income. Since its inception, the programme has gifted over 170 million books to children in five countries. It currently mails more than 1.8 million books every month.
The Dollywood Foundation UK Executive Director Dr. Marion Gillooly said: “We are excited by the Empower London Foundation fundraising approach and are grateful for this partnership which will help us get books into the homes, hands, and hearts of many more children across London.”
ReachOut works with schools in disadvantaged communities. They provide mentoring support to young people aged 9-16 who have low academic attainment, low confidence, behavioural issues, or need a role model. ReachOut has mentoring projects in London, Liverpool, and Greater Manchester and has helped over 840 children through almost 17,000 hours of intervention.
“The London Festival is set to be a fantastic event for all Londoners and a true celebration of the diversity of our city. ReachOut is proud to be a charity partner as the aim of the Empower London Foundation to break down barriers and champion inclusivity, resonate strongly with our vision for all young people, regardless of background, to be equipped with the skills and behaviours to go on to lead good, happy and successful lives,” said ReachOut CEO, Bejal Shah.
Charities will benefit from a consistent flow of financial support through these ongoing partnerships. The various fundraising initiatives Empower London Foundation has organised as part of their pioneering funding plan will raise £150M for charitable causes over the next ten years. They include the two-week The London Festival, planned for 2023. It will showcase live musical performances, city-wide cultural events, and entertainment for the whole family.
Marina Barros, an Empower London Trustee, said: “We’re feeling very proud to announce our next round of charity partnerships with four charities that we really believe in and look forward to working with. Everything we do at Empower London Foundation is to give back to these important charities and help them continue their vital work, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve as a result of our funds.”
To find out more about the Empower London Foundation and The London Festival, visit: https://empower-london.org and https://thelondonfestival.com.
About
Empower London Foundation is committed to raising funds to better the lives of disadvantaged communities and underappreciated individuals. It partners with reputable charities and public sector organisations.
The foundation aims to provide funds to many charities operating in the capital via an annual two-week-long event known as The London Festival. Charities will be able to provide educational programmes, fund community entrepreneurs, and help fund public awareness campaigns on crucial topics that affect communities in London.
