Newsletter Autumn 2024

Here are some quick updates from 2engage – enjoy!

In July, 2engage Co-Founders Philip Goss and Ed Morris presented  at Crossing Borders 3: Modes of Capture at the Storyhouse in Chester.  

Crossing Borders, led by the University of Chester’s Department of Music, Media, and Performance, connects arts, culture, health, education, and community organisations to share ideas, collaborate, and build strong communities of practice.  

2engage highlighted the positive impact of their arts-based training, delivered to hundreds of student nurses earlier this year, demonstrating how drama techniques enhanced nursing skills and capacity. 

Read our blog Arts-Based Training – Creating Unstoppable Nurses to find out more about this project! 

In partnership with Pathways Saturday School, 2engage hosted an exciting performing arts summer school for secondary school pupils from Cheshire West and Chester. Over two days, pupils explored drama, music, and dance through engaging workshops.

The attendees not only honed their creative skills but also formed new friendships! 

In September, 2engage partnered with the University of Chester’s School of Communication, Screen and Performance to deliver engaging resilience sessions for second-year students. We delivered Back to Our Future; an interactive presentation which helps students to identify what their stressors are and how they can deal with them.  

Students from a variety of disciplines, including English, Film & TV, Music, Drama, and Journalism, participated in the sessions. They gained valuable insights into stress management, the power of reframing failure, and practical tips to navigate the challenges of university life with confidence. 

2engage recently worked with Bury Youth Service, delivering a ‘Future Matters’ performance and workshop to Year 7’s from schools across Bury. Designed to help Year 7’s adjusting to the secondary school transition, the session covered themes such as future career aspirations and goals, and the importance of education. 

Cath Linton, Youth Worker at Bury Youth Service said ”2engage have recently supported us to successfully engage with a group of hard-to-reach young people struggling with school attendance. The workshop after the performance was fabulous and really helped them to pick apart the performance content and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. The young people thoroughly enjoyed the event and fed back that they got a lot out of it. Thank you so much to the team at 2engage for helping us to make a positive impact on our young people.” 

2engage had the privilege of creating a short film celebrating the impactful work that Live! Cheshire do in the local community.

Live! Cheshire deliver inclusive, accessible, high-quality learning, personal development and social activities for children, young people and adults with disabilities.

2engage visited Live! Cheshire to deliver a workshop and capture footage, culminating in the creation of a short film showcasing their wonderful team and the important initiatives that they run. The film also gave young service users the opportunity to express their gratitude for the charity. The short film, created by 2engage’s Co-Founder Ed Morris was proudly featured at the Cheshire Community Foundation’s Cheshire 100 Christmas Event at the Storyhouse in Chester.

We look forward to continuing to work with Live! Cheshire in the future.

2engage has been successful in its application to Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price’s SWAP Fund to deliver a project to make Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington safer.

It has been awarded a grant to deliver its award-winning theatre-based session The Snap Trap to children aged 9-11, and their parents in 12 primary schools across Cheshire East, Warrington and Halton. Designed as an early intervention initiative, ‘The Snap Trap’ will assist both children and parents in recognising the risks associated with online activity like social media, gaming, and the use of smart devices. The funding will allow the 2engage to work with partners and the local police team to address community safety issues.

The SWAP Fund invests money seized from criminals, back into communities and gives them a say on how the money is spent.  Funds enable residents and communities to address the issues which matter most to them.

The fund enables ideas to be brought to life and gives the community the opportunity to be part of the solution.

PCC Dan Price said: “Smart devices are embedded heavily in our society and any education that can be provided around them and their risks, either by parents or third party organisations, will help future generations. By working with children from a young age, ideally whilst still in primary school, we can help to make the message stay with them. I can’t wait to see the great work that 2engage delivers through its fun and educational workshops.”

Find out more at: SWAP Fund (cheshire-pcc.gov.uk)