Welcome to our Winter Warmer update... bursting with inspiring stories from people in our neighbourhood, our upcoming events, awards, annual reports and lots of things to get you feeling warm and fuzzy for Christmas! 

​We recently said farewell to Adam. He's got a new job working as a recovery driver - something he's always wanted to do. Adam started with us about 3 years ago working as a young person on Cre8 Facilities (our social enterprise) washing vehicles. He's been a team leader for the last couple of years and done a fantastic job leading our work with Creamline. And he's recently become a father! Congratulations Adam - you'll be missed but we're very pleased for you 😁😁😁 This is what it's all about.

​Calling all our wonderful supporters
We are planning a ‘Food Giveaway’ at the Community Christmas Feast at St Barnabas Church on the 22nd of December. Following the incredible response at previous giveaways we realise how important it is for so many, so close to Christmas.
If you are able to donate items (see below) please get in touch with Cre8 on 01625 503740

• NON-PERISHABLE FOOD - we will take donations of non perishable items any time between now and Friday 22nd. These can be dropped at the Cre8 House (11 Belgrave Road) or get in touch as we might be able to collect.
• FRESH FOOD - we will take in donations of perishable food (like bread, milk, juice, fruit, veg etc) on Monday 17th until the morning of Friday the 22nd. These can be dropped off at Cre8 or get in touch and we may be able to collect.
• TOYS, TOILETRIES, NAPPIES, WASHING POWDER - we are VERY keen for donations (unopened / unused). Families and young people are often in need of these. 
• A LITTLE TIME - if you'd like to help out on the day - serving hot food or helping with the giveaway we would love to have you. It's a great atmosphere and a wonderful start to Christmas.

If you are able to ask your local shop or business to donate something then please do!
We really do appreciate your support for the young people of the Moss Rose Estate and their families.

Volunteers are at the heart of Cre8. They make things happen, and they share their passion and time. It is hugely valuable to a young person to have an adult who will sit and chat with them about their day. We welcome volunteers of any age, background or experience.
Right now, Cre8 specifically need new volunteers to help with ART and CRAFT activities, COOKING and GAMES/SPORTS at our youth clubs which run on Tuesdays 6-8.30pm and Wednesdays 5-7.30pm (which includes setup/close down time). Our youth clubs run in term time.
If you can regularly give a few hours of your time, please phone us on 01625 503740 or email hello@cre8macclesfield.org
Volunteering isn't just about giving, it's so much more, have a look here: http://www.cre8macclesfield.org/volunteering.html

GOOSEBUMPS
Brilliant night with the Laurence Singers. Such a fantastic opportunity for young people to sing alongside this choir.
This was the finale... Rolling in the Deep. The arrangement for the Choir done by our own music tutor Ollie Gibson. Sang by the incredible Casey with Alisha on percussion, Emma Bass, Alfie drums and Amy guitar. And the choir in support.
Thanks for a wonderful evening 😋😇

Amazing Grace...

Held on Saturday 22nd July at the United Reformed Church in Macclesfield town centre, the Youth Concert, which saw performances from Cre8’s talented young musicians, showcased the achievements of young people involved with the highly acclaimed music project on the Moss Rose Estate.
​
Cre8’s music project established in 2011, enables young people from the Moss Rose Estate to develop music-making skills, where there may be limited opportunities for them to do so elsewhere. In 2017 this work has expanded to include the delivery of nationally recognised vocational qualifications in music.
This concert was the opportunity for young people to show off their talents in music performance and they did not disappoint! The varied programme of pop, rock, grime, chilled acoustic and a bit of classical provided something for an audience of all ages and musical tastes. Young people played piano, guitar, bass, drums, ukulele as well as singing and rapping, with some highly technical performances.

A comment from a member of the audience “What an honour and privilege to watch these young people perform. Their talent, their respect and love for their music and each other is inspiring... it was beautiful.”

The development of the young people on their musical journeys was clear, with a special finale featuring a young person, who learnt to sing at Cre8 four years ago and has just received a special award from the School after her first year at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

Tom Wardle, Youth Work Manager at Cre8 said “The young people have been working for months on their performances and stage presence so to see that materialise in such a fantastic way on Saturday was very special. They work really hard in challenging circumstances and they certainly pulled it off tonight! As a team of music leaders we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. It’s now time to look towards October, which will be a completely different experience for these young people, and such an honour to perform with a well-known choir.”

Cre8 Music’s next concert on 14th October at St Michael’s Church in the Marketplace, will be a special fundraising evening in conjunction with the fantastic Laurence Singers based in Cheadle Hulme. This ticketed event is sure to be very popular featuring a lively programme from the choir and special joint performances with Cre8. Tickets are £7 (£5 concessions) and available from Cre8 01625 503740.
 

I have no musical ability, so was especially excited to get involved with the music project! I’m a youth support worker at the Cre8 Music project on the Moss (I have many roles at Cre8 – this is just one of them!). I look after the tea & toast, sit and chat while young people wait for lessons, and more recently I’ve become a ‘project’ for the young people to teach music to!

My lack of musical ability became apparent to the young people quite quickly and so they took it upon themselves to sort me out with some music lessons – taught by them! It began with singing and we are currently practising Jessie J's ‘Flashlight’ and Leonard Cohen's ‘Hallelujah’; a fine combination! This is accompanied by piano and most recently, ukulele... Simon Cowell eat your hat! As well as fuelling my one man band daydreams, I find it a cool way of building the young people’s confidence in their own ability and focus' them to practice (albeit while laughing at my raw talent). Plus, there’s plenty of evidence to show it helps them learn – have a look at the article here >>. It's also really encouraging to see young people teaching each other young people, as everyone seems to join in with ‘teaching Rachel’ time.

Macclesfield is amazing!!! One of Macclesfield’s best kept secrets is the amount of social action being provided by small local organisations, and the huge amount of volunteering to provide help where it’s needed.
This video put together by HOPE gives a short intro to a few organisations that try to make a difference to people's lives in Macclesfield. And Cre8 is featured!!

SUMMER YOUTH MUSIC CONCERT

Saturday 22nd July at 6pm at The United Reformed Church (URC), Park Green Macclesfield
Cre8 Music, now in its sixth year, with a third recommendation from the National Foundation for Youth Music, continues to challenge and inspire.

A mix of modern songs, solos, duets, and bands, these young people will show you their journey from beginners to multi-talented musicians. Don’t miss out!

The event will be FREE ENTRY for the audience as we want to attract as many people as possible, but we welcome donations as always.

Please share with friends, family and please do publicise with our poster - downloadable here.

Last week we started the next phase of our Music Project - delivery of the Rockschool Award to a group of 6 young people who have been involved in our music project for the last few years. This level 2 award is a big deal for us - to be able to acredit what we do here at the music project and support young people to gain a qualification for their musical talents!


To start with the group will be focusing on core units one of which is working towards a performance; they'll be organising, running and performing their own concert!


The very first session last week involved 'me boards': reflecting on their own musical style, influences and background...
​

Exciting times 🎤🎸🎹🎧🎵 #youthmusic #cre8music

Really excited for the Cre8 music concert tonight!!  😀
 (very talented young people singing current music - not a squeaky carole in sight!)

The incredible talent of the Cre8 Macclesfield Music Project Winter Concert .. Warms the soul and heart  ❤️
 
Take me to the place I love ...Cre8
 
One of our Cre8 music graduates is now continuing her journey at LIPA ... She Came back to share her talent ... Wonderful to see her sing last night, she's done so well : )
 
The incredible talent of the young people from the Moss estate working hard at Cre8 Music project to provide an evening of pure joy
 
Brilliant to see so much talent from very gifted musicians and singers last night at the concert, well done everyone!
 
Gorgeous butty and perfect tea xxx thank you all X And crackin' sandwiches they were! Well done team!  😂
 
All looks very exciting and so sorry we cannot be there to watch what I know will be an amazing concert.x
 
It was fab, as always! It worked well at the URC too I thought.
 
Feeling Christmassy after a great night at the cre8 Christmas concert 
 
Feeling blessed. I will never really get tired...of young people showing us their incredibleness. If only you were here  😌 
 
Great night !!! Thank you
 
Cre8's concert was amazing!
 
That’s my favourite song! I love Ed Sheeran  :D That's Amy who is singing it here, she's only 14! X
 
You must be so proud whenever you 'produce' a performance like tonight.
All your protégés were fab of course - for me the magical moments were…

• I cried at Liam's 'Lean on Me'
• I was astounded at Leila's talent
• I thought Chloe looked angelic and has a promising voice
• Matt was a star and Owen clearly takes the award for technical courage!
• Let's hope Casey can tell herself that her voice is beautiful again - very soulful I thought
• And of course Alfie stole the show with his cheek and varied percussion skills!

Thanks for all you do - there is really NO surprise to me at all that YOUTH MUSIC continues to financially support the Cre8 Music team - you are all amazing at what you do - as are all the young performers.

In 2011 Cre8  started a music project with funding from Youth Music. Since then it's gone from strength to strength and now represents a key part of our provision, engaging over 60 young people in music-making activities on an annual basis, with a core group of around 30 participants who attend 3 times a week. Many of these young people have been involved for years, developing from complete beginners into multi-instrumental musicians and going on to excel in their music GCSEs and study music at college.

But why do they keep coming back? Is it the music? Ask them, and they'll probably say it's the toast.

As a youth worker based in a community long-term, I'm always interested in what it takes to engage young people in activities that develop tangible skills and make a visible impact on their lives on a long-term basis. As a musician, I understand the impact that music-making can have on an individual. It can be defining; more than just a hobby, it can shape personalities and futures. So naturally when the opportunity arose to combine the two it was a welcome challenge.

Back to the toast.

One of the more interesting parts of my training as a youth work was the theory of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (look it up here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs). The theory suggests that for individuals to experience growth in areas of self-esteem, confidence, achievement and respect of others their basic physiological needs, sense of safety and need for positive social relationships has to be met. To put it plainly: if you want hard-to-reach kids to learn to play music and respect other, give them sofas, support, tea and toast.

Now that's not to say there aren't difficulties that come along with this. Sometimes it's difficult to define whether a young person spent more time learning how to play 'Smoke on the Water' or standing in the queue waiting for a brew. Or when I've forgotten to pick up the chocolate spread and have to spare a member of staff for 10 minutes to go to the shop to avoid all out mutiny. But it works, and the numbers prove it. More importantly, we can see it working. Now that we've been going for 5 years, we can see lives changing. I watch kids who once struggled to sing above a whisper stand up on a stage in front of 100+ people, including families and peers (which is often worse) and smash out their rendition of 'Read All About It Part II'. I have seen kids who have literally beat themselves up when they place a finger wrong on the fretboard, who have learnt patience and perseverance and can deliver the solo from 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love'. And every time they do it, their lives change a little for the better.

It might seem simple. It might seem like an unnecessary distraction. But if there's one thing I would share with people who are struggling to reach the kids who need it the most, it would be: "firstly, give them tea and toast".

Post to the Youth Music Network, September 2016, by Tom Wardle