The Care Leavers Christmas Video

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
Thank you so much to all those who gave  generously to The Christmas Dinner appeal.   Here are some of the people from the Christmas dinner that you helped create. Thankyou also  to each  person and company who contributed  presents, beautiful venues and scrumptious food.  Thanks to the chefs and volunteers and to each steering group in Hackney Leeds and Manchester. And to Pure Insight in Stockport. Thanks. Read more [...]

Manchester Christmas Dinner Needs Help

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
All we hear  in the press is the negative news about what happened to young care leavers - This is a positive story.  The Manchester Christmas Dinner is a free  Christmas dinner for Care Leavers  between 16 and 25,and a 15  mile radius (or so)  of Manchester.  I'm a care leaver myself.  I know what Christmas day can be like. The Manchester Christmas Dinner has a Chef - he works for both Manchester United And Manchester City football teams.  We have the food and decorations supplied by Booths Read more [...]

How Christmas Dinner 2013 was organised.

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
All details of how the team organised The Christmas Dinner 2013 for care leavers are within this blog.  Sally and The Tope Project who did a Christmas Dinner in London in  2012 inspired me to instigate The Christmas Dinner  for Manchester. Here’s how. On 25th February 2013 I wrote Sally at Tope  “I want to set up two Christmas for care leavers bartevents. One  in Manchester and one in Bradford. They should carry The Tope Project’s name so his legacy spreads.”  Sally invited me to a Read more [...]

Parklife. One ticket one people.

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
In March  Parklife festival tickets sold out. There’s 600 performers and  200 acts.   This weekend an audience of 140.000 are partying at  the largest municipal park in Europe. With stage and sound technician, production teams, security and information staff a total of 150,000 pairs of feet will make up  Parklife  festival. And the local community will benefit  to the tune of six million  pounds.  Amongst this logistical maelstrom  a young man missed the deadline to get his ticket. Back Read more [...]

The Past The Present & The Gift: Mary Anne Hobbs #TCD2013

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
It's 5am Christmas Eve.  I'm staying  in the Northern Quarter in Manchester  for The Chrsitmas Dinner.  Throughout today I’ll share different aspects, different elements,  to  The Christmas Dinner. .  The first is is  Mary Ann Hobbs.   She's supported the Christmas dinner from the moment she heard of it  and she’ll be there tomorrow on Christmas day and she's offering something special to each diner. The tweet above is everything she needs to to make it happen. Each diner can sit Read more [...]

What is The Christmas Dinner and how is it doing?

Posted on by Lemn Sissay in Main Page, The Christmas Dinner
This Christmas Dinner in Manchester is inspired by The Tope Project who did it first in London last year.   Louise Wallwein writes on the crowdfunder site   "The Christmas Dinner is a pop up organisation founded by Lemn Sissay.   We are a group of 10 professionals who between us have over a hundred years experience of working with young people."  I gathered a group of of people together   on October 6th 2013 via Google Conference. The aim:  to provide a Christmas day dinner for care leavers Read more [...]