Our next Lunch Plus is on the 14th February. Grimm & Co is one of the UK’s most innovative children’s literacy and writing centres, in the heart of Rotherham. Come to this Lunch Plus and hear how the love of stories, writing and creativity is helping to grow young people’s confidence, self-esteem and imagination.

Deborah Bullivant (Founding Director) will outline the development of the charity, which grew out of a Yorkshire Forward funded project that investigated ‘what would make the biggest difference to children’s literacy’. The outcomes of this study (undertaken with the University of Sheffield) gave the structure and the philosophy on which the charity is based.

Whilst setting up the charity Deborah drew inspiration from American author Dave Eggers’ work in San Francisco, whose 826 model of a writing and mentoring centre for disadvantaged children (accessed through a shop for pirates) fed into the ideas. Consultation with families, children and young people followed and all of this led to the creation of Grimm & Co, a charity that can only be entered through a fantastical Apothecary to the Magical.

This is a fascinating case study of fusing creativity, education, young people in the foundational power of the imagination to regrow a town’s love of literacy, writing, reading and storytelling.

LunchPlus is a business networking event with a focus on social enterprise. Our aim is to provide a broad, diverse and inclusive platform profiling key networks, sectors, innovation, new business opportunities, expertise, case studies, helpful business and financial services and products designed to support emerging and existing social enterprises across the Sheffield City Region. The format for Lunch Plus is a 20 min presentation and a chaired Q+A session followed by a light lunch networking opportunity.