Help Pie level the score for young minds

Last year we launched our campaign to support young people’s mental health. We’ve helped 63 11 – 18 years in East Kent access instant, free professional counselling and creative sessions and 1-2-1s thanks to your generosity. Yet the surge in referrals isn’t letting up and health service waiting lists are getting longer.

One year on, we want to do even more, we can do more – with your help. 

We’ve reopened the fundraiser – in 30 days we hope to raise £1,500 to give a further 30 young people counselling and creative sessions. 

Play your part

• 🎧 Donate – choose an amount or buy one of our fundraiser tees designed by Paul Camo or Rob Flowers for £20 or a Pie sketchbook for £5
• 🎧 Be a Soundcheck champion by telling the young people you know, schools and community groups about what we’re offering
• 🎧 Share our social posts and sign up to our newsletter

This is why we are taking action – to ensure that no young person in the most deprived wards in Kent – Thanet and Dover – is left behind.

Pastoral care is a core part of what we do at Pie and has grown in the last 18 months, from food and self-care packages and vouchers for low-income families, to sessions in schools and our counselling stream.

We’ve reacted to what our young people need because they come first. 

The true impact of the pandemic is being felt now. The reality of fewer employment opportunities, rising living costs and dealing with collective and individual trauma and grief is all too real. By offering more counselling and mental health support, we aim to give young people the tools they need now to help them get through this difficult time and prevent years of struggle. They’re not alone.

The tees

Talented local artists Paul Camo and Rob Flowers created two exclusive, limited edition T-shirts for us. They represent Pie – who we are, what we do and what we stand for – equality and access for all and enhancing lives through music.

Rob Flowers a slice of the pie tee is a visual explosion of the words and objects our young people use to define who we are and what we do. 

With the systemic devaluing and dismantling of arts education and opportunities, organisations like Pie Factory Music are a vital resource, providing young people in East Kent with access to tools that build creative lives. When the guys from Pie Factory asked me to get involved with the fundraising campaign, I jumped at the chance to support the cause

Paul Camo’s anti-racism slogan-tee references protest T-shirts and placards, taking cues from the past to inspire action now as the fight for racial justice continues. The font is a unique typeface, inspired by signs from a 1963 protest march, adapted from an old badge, which states ‘STOP RACIST ATTACKS’.

When Pie Factory Music approached me to create a T-shirt to raise funds, there was absolutely no question for me about getting involved in this very important project and worthwhile cause

This soft-cover A4 sketchbook is ready to be filled with sketches, ideas, thoughts, feelings – whatever you like. There’s a power in putting pen or pencil to paper to help soothe the mind and spark creativity.

Activate your support

Every donation will help us bridge the gap in services in East Kent, enabling young people to improve their mental wellbeing and helping to give them a greater chance to thrive as the long-term impact of the pandemic takes full force. 

Buy a tee

shop.piefactorymusic.com

Donate without a tee

piefactorymusic.com/donate

All donations Pie receives from 5 November to 4 December 2021 will go towards the Soundcheck fundraiser.

Please help spread the word to help us raise the volume for young people.

Thank you

Make your donations go further with Gift Aid

Through the Government’s Gift Aid scheme, Pie Factory Music can claim an additional 25p for every £1 you donate. So if you are a UK taxpayer, you can increase the value of your donations to us by 25%, at no extra cost to yourself! Simply fill in your details below and tick the box to confirm your taxpayer status.

We will use the details provided to update your record and to process your donations to us. Please note: we can only claim Gift Aid if you provide your first name, surname and home address.

Gift Aid declaration

I am a UK taxpayer and would like Pie Factory Music to reclaim the tax on all donations I have made in the last four years and for all future gifts of money that I make to be Gift Aid donations.

Pie’s 2021 Emerging Artists are launching their own record label, Wantsum Music?

After a year of developing their own talents with the help of local music industry mentors, the collective has come together to create the label to give fellow aspiring young musicians in East Kent a platform to promote and distribute their music.

Photo: Steve Kreeger

Connor Beerling, Zico Briki, Claire Pitt Wigmore, Adam Pullman and Conor Stanfield are focussed on helping emerging artists across Thanet, East Kent and beyond find their voice and footing in the music scene.

“We want to give local young musicians similar opportunities and support we received as part of the Emerging Artists programme. It was clear to all of us that Thanet is a booming area for the creative arts, and we believe that young musicians need and deserve a way to showcase their talents too. Being signed up to a huge record label is daunting, and we’d been really inspired by what our Mentor from Moshi Moshi Music had achieved – they fully supported our ambition and so we’ve taken the initiative.”

The Wantsum Music? collective

Do you Wantsum Music?

Launch party: Thursday 2 December, 7pm at Tom Thumb Theatre.
Tickets – £3 for under 18s, £5 for over 18s, pay on the door.

One of the unique aspects WM? is that there is no set genre or type of music – all genres are welcome – “it’s about giving an opportunity to young home-grown talent, whatever the genre. We’re a collective made up of musicians creating a plethora of sounds. We want to represent that in the artists we support. WM? is a channel to get them into the sea of music, successfully and supportively” says Claire.

Adam, who has recently become Programme Assistant at Pie, says that “being a part of a community of musicians is an important aspect of the label”.

The label is supported by Pie Factory Music through generous funding from Youth Music and Thanet-based global record label Moshi Moshi Music.

Emerging Artists began in 2018 in response to requests to learn more about the music industry:

“I was being approached by more and more young musicians in our youth club sessions about how to get gigs, how to release music, how to ‘get signed’, and I realised there was a real need for a programme for young musicians dedicated to learning this stuff” says Pie’s Programme Manager Zoe Carassik-Lord

The programme pairs a group of up to 10 young people with a local music industry mentor over the course of a year, nurturing their talent and giving them essential know-how about the music industry, as well as opportunities to perform live, host gigs, attend masterclasses and meet and connect with fellow young musicians.

This year’s mentors have included Michael McClatchey of Moshi Moshi records, Beth Clayton from Boom Shakalaka Productions, Harriet Jordan-Wrench from Secret Sessions, Bianca Rose and Loretta Andrews from I Am Independent, and Kimberly Ann, Creative Director of Palm Bay Records.

Michael from Moshi Moshi says:

“Having worked in music for a number of years it’s easy to lose sight of what first drew you to running a record label. Working with the group on Wantsum Music? has served as a reminder of that and their enthusiasm and ambition has been a tonic for me.”

The programme has provided unparalleled opportunities for folk singer and WM? founder Connor Beerling

“Emerging Artists has been an incredible opportunity. It’s given me a platform, boosted my confidence, got me back to performing and connected me with the music community. I’m inspired by my peers every day. To be around likeminded people is so important.”

After the most challenging of times for young people, Pie’s Managing Director Steph Dickinson reflects that

“To see a group of Pie’s young people come together to create an innovative new venture for fellow young people is astounding. We couldn’t be more proud or excited about Wantsum Music? In a time when young people face unprecedented challenges, the Emerging Artists are leading us into 2022 full of hope and inspiration. We urge everyone to support the group and the label – listen, like, share, join!”

Find Wantsum Music? at www.wantsummusic.bandcamp.com and follow them on Instagram @Wantsum_Music

• Get in touch with Wantsum Music? – email wantsummusiclabel@gmail.com

Left to right: Adam Pullman, Conor Stanfield, Connor Beerling, Claire Pitt Wigmore, Zico Briki. Photos: Steve Kreeger