Great Northern supports the development of local youngsters

Great Northern has helped support Cambridge based charity Red Balloon inspire youngsters in creative writing.

The train operator provided travel on its services from Cambridge to Kings Cross, for children who gain educational and therapeutic support from the charity which recovers severely bullied children, so they could travel onto a writing residential week in Devon. The aim of the five day course was to inspire the children in different ways of writing and help develop their confidence and creativity.

One of the youngsters wrote to Great Northern, saying: "Thank you very much for the train passes from Cambridge to Kings Cross last week for the Red Balloon trip to the Arvon Writing Residential. Without your help we would have been unable to go.

"And it seems fitting that after such an amazing week I should thank all those who made it possible. There are so many brilliant things I’ve learned I’m not certain how to convey the gratefulness I have to those who made it possible.

"Our week was one that won’t be forgotten in a hurry. Alongside the writing and the tutors we each learned something new, like the friendships you can build in a week and the horrors of cooking a full meal.

"The actual lessons, which I seem to have brushed over, were the most amazing and in-depth windows into literature I’ve ever experienced. I personally have never been all that taken with poetry yet after a week with a poet I feel a little bit of Rossetti in my pen. There was a novelist, who saw a challenge and pushed us all into making something we weren’t sure we could. We were made to step out of our comfort zones and I wouldn’t say a single one in the seventeen of us would do anything but thank him for it.

"We all saw new opportunities, new ideas and new inspiration and now, I will at least, probably not be leaving the writing desk for a good few months.

"Overall, I think this week has provided not just friendship, tranquillity and fun but also inspiration to a group of students who needed it. The way each and every person flourished is something unable to be expressed easily."

Carrie Herbert MBE, Founder and President of Red Balloon, added: "Thank you so much to Great Northern for organising the train passes for the Red Balloon children to Kings Cross. They had an excellent time on their writing camp. I drove down for a couple of days and watched as friendships were made, writing took hold and their confidence rose. One evening I was there two children were still writing a play at midnight! That's when learning and friendships becomes more important than bed!"

Great Northern Passenger Services Director, Keith Jipps, added: "We were pleased to be able to help this wonderful good cause with these passes. It's great to hear that thanks to the travel we provided they have had an excellent week developing both their interpersonal skills and abilities."

Ends

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