Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who so kindly sent me cards and books to celebrate my 60th birthday last month - there was such a flood that our local postie wondered what the heck was going on! I had an amazing birthday weekend (the photo above was the beginning of it, a quiet dinner out with two of my closest friends who'd flown in specially; both of them mothers, and women I've known for 25 years and 45 years respectively!) After my birthday I came down with flu/bronchitis for two weeks, so I'm working my way through my thank yous - apologies if you haven't yet heard from me!
Before I get stuck into all the things I want to share with you this month, can I quickly remind you that the Earlybird discounts for our Perth (Australia) Reignite Weekend on 5/6th October end this weekend (11th August) and that all workshop bookings have to be in on/before 22nd August. This is the first time we've been able to offer it in Perth, and it's unlikely to happen again for several years, so if you're thinking of attending, please don't wait any longer to express your interest! And if you've always wanted to do the weekend, but have been unable to travel, we have an Online Reignite Weekend coming up in September that could be the answer for you. And if you're looking for all our remaining Reignite Weekends for 2024, click here.
Also coming up in this month's newsletter
World Childless Week 2024 is next month, 16-22 September! A big part of it are submissions from childless people like you from around the world. Submissions close 25th August, so it's time to get going with yours. Also, I share ways to get your workplace and local community involved;
The StoryhouseCHILDLESS festival is also back next month in Chester UK on the weekend of 28/29th September and this year we're taking over BOTH theatres! I'm part of events on both days, and will also have plenty of time to hang out and chat - it's such an incredibly friendly and nourishing weekend.
Check out some of the amazing member-only online events taking place in the Childless Collective Community this month, including live & recorded interviews with authors Annie Kirby, Nicole Louie and Kat Brown, plus local in-person gatherings globally.
Well, I think that's quite enough from me until next month!
I've been an Ambassador for World Childless Week since its inception in 2017 and the absolute beating heart of the week are the submissions from childless people like you from all over the world, based around the daily themes. Submissions can be in ANY form that can be displayed on the website (video, poem, artwork, words, music, etc), can be anonymous or credited as you prefer, and DO NOT have to be of a âprofessionalâ standard (so tell that to your inner critic!) All submissions have to be in two weeks time, by midnight BST on Sunday August 25th so please don't leave it too late, especially if each year you've been meaning to take part and haven't managed to get round to itâŚ
As well as showcasing our voices, World Childless Week is a time for us to tell the world that WE EXIST! Some of the ways you can get involved in this:
Ask your workplace to add it to their âawareness daysâ calendar. If you click here, you'll find a sample template of an email you can customise to send to your HR or DEI team.
Raise awareness in your local community - here's a link to download some leaflets which you can print and ask to be displayed on noticeboards in your local healthcare centre, community centre, faith centre or even the dreaded school staffroom!
Send the 2024 World Childless Week press release to your local newspaper or radio station to see if they might do a feature on it. Steph (the founder of WCW) is brilliant at being interviewed in print or on live/pre-recorded TV or radio.
And don't forget that if you have an event or offering that you'd like other childless people to know about, the WCW website features free or very reasonably priced advertising opportunities which, along with donations, are how the digital and admin costs of WCW are funded each year.
