seven stories

ENID BLYTON’S GIFT FOR SEVEN STORIES
 
A new £¾m fund to benefit the work of Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books in Newcastle upon Tyne, has been founded thanks to the Enid Blyton Trust for Children.  Its Trustees have decided to wind up the Enid Blyton Trust for Children and donate its assets to set up a permanent fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. This fund will support the work of Seven Stories for years to come. A founding grant of £10,000 is announced today at a House of Lords lunch that is being hosted by Lord Beecham of Benwell and Newcastle upon Tyne on Seven Stories behalf.

Kate Edwards, Chief Executive of Seven Stories said, “We are thrilled that the Enid Blyton Trustees have asked us to continue their work to improve the lives of children through learning and leisure opportunities. This new Fund, founded in Enid Blyton’s name, deepens our connection with her and her outstanding contribution to children’s literature in Britain. Grants from the Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories at Community Foundation will support our work to inspire more children from different walks of life to enjoy reading and the life opportunities that this brings.” 

An Enid Blyton Trust for Children trustee explained their decision, “Seven Stories is a truly inspiring place. We know that we have made the right decision and believe that Enid herself would feel very happy with everything Seven Stories is doing for her, her work and for the children”.
Seven Stories’ connection with Enid Blyton was strengthened last year after they successfully fundraised and bid at auction for the rare and original typescripts of some of her best-known work from the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy series. As a result they founded the only publicly accessible Enid Blyton archive.

The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland will hold the new Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories as part of its wider work supporting philanthropy that enriches lives. Chief Executive Rob Williamson explains, “We have helped several charitable trusts that have wound up their affairs. Establishing funds at the Community Foundation assures former trustees that the charitable purposes will continue and the donated assets remain protected. Our investment of the Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories will provide dedicated revenue to support their learning and participation work every year. That starts today with a founding grant of £10,000, the first part of funding that we hope will total £30,000 or more this year alone. The Community Foundation is honoured to have been entrusted with this Fund, and to be associated with keeping the charitable activities associated with Enid Blyton alive.” 

The founding of an endowment fund for Seven Stories is timely.  As public funding is set to decline, cultural organisations are being encouraged to raise more funds from private sources. Endowments, which are large sums of money invested to provide a regular income for the charity, are common in the US and are increasingly seen as a way that UK arts charities can strengthen their long term future.  Kate Edwards says, “The Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories has made it possible for us to have an endowment, which until recently was just a dream.  Though support from our public funders continues to be vital, our fundraising ambition is to grow our endowment to £5m, building a more secure future for Seven Stories and our mission to protect, share and celebrate our precious literary inheritance for children with generations to come.”

Seven Stories is the only gallery and archive in Britain that celebrates the wonderful world of children’s books. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Seven Stories gives a unique insight into the making of a children’s book through engaging exhibitions, events and learning activities that encourage children, young people, families and researchers to explore their own creativity. To find out more about Seven Stories and the Enid Blyton archive go to www.sevenstories.org.uk. More information about the Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories at Community Foundation can be found at www.communityfoundation.org.uk. 

-Ends-

MEDIA CONTACT:
For Seven Stories:
Nicky Potter
E: nicpot@dircon.co.uk
T: 020 8 889 9735

For Community Foundation, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
Alex Horrocks – Communication Manager
E: AH@communityfoundation.org.uk
T: 0191 222 0945

NOTES TO EDITOR:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Enid Blyton (1897-1968)
Enid Blyton (1897-1968) was the best-selling English-language author of the twentieth century, and remains one of the most popular writers of all time. In polls of favourite childhood reading, she continues to be ranked in the top five authors, often above Roald Dahl and JK Rowling. In a career spanning five decades, she produced an astonishing 700+ books and some 4,500 short stories.  Despite this huge output, very few of Blyton’s original typescripts appear to have survived.
More than forty years after her death, her series fiction, in particular her 21 titles in the Famous Five series, has acquired iconic status. The name ‘Enid Blyton’, coupled with her trademark signature, has become a byword for a lost era of innocent childhood adventure. 
Enid Blyton Trust for Children (founded 1982)
The Trust was founded in 1982 using funds from the sale of Enid Blyton’s books. The purpose of the Trust was to support the medical, education and leisure of children (under 16 years) in need by giving grants to charities and organisations that work directly with the children. Over the years funds have been distributed to many organisations in Britain and abroad. 

Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books (founded 1996)
Seven Stories is Britain’s home for children’s literature. It champions the art of children’s books to ensure its place as an integral part of childhood and of our national cultural life.
Until Seven Stories was founded in 1996 there was no place in the UK that championed the art form or its young audience – it is the only gallery dedicated to children’s literature in the UK and one of just a few in the world. Its founders were pioneering in their approach to addressing this cultural void and ambitious in their decision to locate it in the Northeast; a region with lower levels of childhood aspiration and committed to the societal benefits of cultural investment.  Seven Stories is housed in a specially converted Victorian Warehouse in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Arts Council England and Newcastle City Council regularly fund Seven Stories’ work, giving children’s literature status and a national home and establishing new ways of engaging young audiences. 
Since opening Seven Stories has:
• Attracted 380,000 visitors and 549,000 to its touring exhibitions.
• Worked with 64,000 school children, 10,800 children and adults through outreach projects and 1,300 professionals through professional development courses.
• Shown 19 major exhibitions.
• Developed one of the largest modern children’s literature Collections in Britain, including nationally and internationally significant holdings representing work of over 80 authors and illustrators, including David Almond, Philip Pullman, Michael Rosen, Edward Ardizzone, Judith Kerr and Shirley Hughes.
• Won many accolades, including the prestigious Eleanor Farjeon Award in 2010 for its outstanding contribution to children’s literature.

Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. 
The Community Foundation is a charity that enables effective giving which strengthens communities and enriches local life. The Foundation acts as a hub for individuals, families, businesses and other charities that want to give to communities, matching their interests with organisations and individuals seeking funding. In 2010-11, the Foundation awarded more than 1,600 grants totalling £4.8m. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, it is the largest community foundation in the UK and part of a growing international community philanthropy movement.

The Foundation holds and builds an endowment to provide resources for grant-making now and in the future. It also makes grants from contributions given every year.

Over the years, the Foundation has helped several charities and trusts that have decided that it was the right time to wind up their affairs. Sometimes they could no longer pursue their charitable objectives; sometimes their income was no longer sufficient to continue grant-making or support administration; sometimes their trustees simply wished to retire. In such circumstances, the Community Foundation is able to continue the original charity’s work by assuming management of its assets.

The Foundation already makes a substantial investment in the cultural sector, notably through holding the Sage Gateshead Fund, the largest arts endowment in the UK outside London.