“BAD TIME RHYMES”
A poetry competition for 7-18 year olds about losing someone special
About the Grief Encounter Project
Every half an hour in the UK a child loses a parent and thousands more lose a sibling each year, yet there is very little support available to help them cope with such a catastrophic event. The lives of those affected will never be the same again and can all too easily spiral out of control without proper help and support.
The Grief Encounter Project (GEP) was founded by Shelley Gilbert in 2003. Shelley lost both her parents by the time she was 9 years old and set up the charity to help those similarly affected. GEP provides access to resources for bereaved children via the Grief Encounter Workbook, website, specialist printed materials and helpline. The charity provides direct bereavement services to children and young people in the Northwest London area, acts as a gateway service to other organisations and campaigns to raise awareness of bereaved children’s issues on a national level.
The competition
Schools in the UK tend to teach about life and not about death and the poetry competition is being launched to raise awareness of bereavement issues and to help make grief less taboo. The competition is open to all children in the UK age 7-18 to provide them with an outlet to express how bereavement has affected them, whether they have lost a close family member, a relative, a friend, a beloved pet, or witnessed how bereavement has affected someone they know.
The most though-provoking and touching poems will be published in a poetry book giving others coping with loss something to relate to.
The competition is being held in memory of Holly Wells who was murdered in Soham in August 2002. Her father, Kevin Wells, is a patron of GEP and will be one of the judges.
The Grief Encounter Project (GEP) carries out invaluable work and recently won the AOL Innovation in the Community Award. Shelley Gilbert has been invited by many organisations to talk about her work with bereaved young people and has received many awards including, most recently, the prestigious Norwood Helping Hand Award.
The competition is being run by GEP, in association with the following regional partners: Childhood Bereavement Network, London; CRUSE UK; Childhood Bereavement Trust, West Wycombe; Chums, Luton; Isabel Hospice, Welywn; Jigsaw4u, Surrey; Notre Dame Centre, Glasgow; Slideaway, Kent; The Butterfly Project, NCH, Warrington; St Joseph’s Hospice London and The Laura Centre.
The judges
Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate
John Hegley, Poet
Dani Harmer, Actress (CBBC’s Tracy Beaker)
Kevin Wells (Soham Dad)
Panel of bereaved children
Competition mechanics
All children in the UK can enter the competition by writing a poem about being bereaved in any form they like, up to a maximum of 200 words. It can be real or imaginary but must be their own unpublished work. The poem could be about their own experience, or about another’s experience.
The competition will have two categories: 7-11 years old and 12-18 years old.
On 25th April 2007, school packs will be circulated to as many schools as possible in the UK encouraging their pupils to take part in the competition. Other schools can download a pack via the website www.griefencounter.org.uk
The suggested date for the official launch of the competition is 25th April 2007 and a PR campaign will ensure the competition is promoted at a local, regional and national level across all media.
All competition entries must be received by 28th June 2007. Entries will then be sorted and a shortlist of the best entries will be circulated to the judges for final judging in July/August. In the case of a tie for first place, Andrew Motion, as Poet Laureate, will have the casting vote. There will be regional and national winners in both primary and secondary school categories and poems by the overall winners and runners up will be published in a book. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in Central London in February 2008 (date TBC) to hear their poems being read by celebrities. They will also receive a prize and a signed first edition copy of the book and their school/organisation will receive a prize.
The Express Newspaper Group has already confirmed that they will run a series of articles to publicise the competition. Other national, regional and local newspapers will also be targeted, along with key magazines, websites and TV and radio stations.
It is hoped that all judges will actively support the competition, taking part in media interviews to help promote both the competition and the issue of childhood bereavement.
By working together, we can make the competition a real success and reach out to thousands of children affected by loss.
Thank you so much for your help and support.
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