Empower London Foundation Teams Up with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in New Round of Charity Partnerships
The festival is set to be one of the biggest fundraiser events to hit the Capital and celebrate London’s history, arts, culture, and innovation. The goal of the event is to raise money for Empower London Foundation’s educational programmes, and support schemes for entrepreneurs and Greater London communities.
This round of partnerships introduces four key charities, including:
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library—dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books to children, free of charge, regardless of their family’s income
- Skylarks Charity—who provide support, art, and culture to children with additional needs
- ReachOut—a mentoring charity that offers one-to-one support to young people from disadvantaged communities
- Momentum Children’s Charity—who helps families of seriously ill children to keep moving forward, by offering tailored support both in hospital, and at home.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation UK, was started by legendary singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and humanitarian, Dolly Parton. Inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, she began the program in 1995 with the aim of sharing 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 inception, the programme has gifted over 170 million books to children in five countries and currently mails over 1.8 million books every month.
Marion Gillooly, Executive Director: “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.”
Another of our new charity partners, ReachOut, works with schools in disadvantaged communities to provide mentoring support to young people aged 9-16 who have low academic attainment, low confidence, behavioural issues or who need a role model. With mentoring projects in London, Liverpool, and Greater Manchester, ReachOut have helped over 840 children through almost 17,000 hours of intervention.
Bejal Shah, CEO from ReachOut said, “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 aims 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. ”
Through these ongoing partnerships, charities will benefit from a consistent flow of financial support from the various fundraising initiatives Empower London Foundation have organised as part of their pioneering funding plan to raise £150M for charitable causes over the next 10 years. This includes the two-week The London Festival, planned for 2023 which 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.”
About
Empower London Foundation is committed to raising funds to better the lives of disadvantaged communities and underappreciated individuals in the capital by partnering with reputable charities and public sector organisations.