NewWriters.org.uk is not a charity, but every time we run a writing competition that charges an entry fee, we donate a proportion of the proceeds to charity. For our first few writing competitions, we donated £1 from each entry to First Story. As of February 2025, we have donated more than £3,100 to the charity.
From February 2025, we will donate 10% of the writing competition proceeds, which we’ll split equally between First Story and The Funzi & Bodo Trust (who run and/or fund various medical, developmental and educational projects in Kenya and to whom our parent company has donated more than £20,000 over the last decade or so).
Here is some information about the charity and the great work the two charities do.
First Story is England’s leading creative writing charity for young people. They enrich the lives of students in low-income communities by providing quality extracurricular creative activities and cultural experiences that foster creativity, confidence, ability and talent.
The charity believes every young person deserves to reap the benefits of a rich creative education and our vision is a society that encourages and supports young people from all backgrounds to practice creative writing for pleasure, self-expression and agency. Their flagship Young Writers Programme places inspiring professional writers in residence in non-selective secondary schools, where they work intensively with a consistent group towards publication of a printed anthology. Participants in First Story groups are encouraged to develop their unique voices and taught to tell their own stories with confidence and skill. Regular local and national events and competitions, plus resources and support for teachers, add value to our provision and offer a year-round experience.
The charity’s growing portfolio of exclusive opportunities for First Story alumni, in partnership with prestigious arts organisations, ensures an accessible progression pipeline for talent. No other organisation in England offers a comparable richness and depth of creative writing provision. Embedding professional writers in schools over an extended period, and their focus on supporting secondary-age students in some of the most ethnically diverse and socio-economically deprived areas of the country, sets First Story apart.
Diversity and inclusion underpins and guides everything that they do and they are committed to empowering young people with agency and amplifying their voices.
Find out more at firststory.org.uk
Over a decade ago, journalist Ashley Peatfield and his wife Sara, a former teacher, launched the Funzi and Bodo Trust after witnessing the extreme poverty in the two villages in Kenya. They began by renovating an old building on Funzi Island with the help of villagers, transforming it into a small medical clinic. Within two weeks of the refurbishment, the clinic opened its doors with a nurse, an assistant, and essential medications to care for the sick.
Since that first project, the Trust has grown into a registered UK charity managed entirely by volunteers. Although Ashley and Sara continue to lead the organization, they are supported by trustees and experts in fields such as medicine, education, and business.
Today, the charity delivers a broad range of services – including healthcare, education, sanitation, and clean water – and runs projects aimed at alleviating poverty on both Funzi Island and in the mainland village of Bodo. This volunteer-led approach ensures that every donation directly benefits those in need.
Find out more at funzi.org.uk