In these member spotlights, we're giving insight into a few of our members, and the projects they have been involved in. Jack Drum Arts is a VONNE silver member, and a participant in our Going Green Together project. They have recently been awarded bronze accreditation with Investors in the Environment for their work in sustainability.
Jack Drum Arts is a social enterprise based in Crook, County Durham. Jack Drum hosts daily activities for young people and adults, including music workshops, arts and wellbeing activities using the social prescribing model, have a thriving youth theatre group, and youth club. Jack Drum Arts also produce annual events co-created with members of their community, including Crook Winter Light Parade, and the award-winning youth produced green festival B.O.P Fest (Building Our Planet festival). They are a delivery partner of the BFI Film Academy network providing filmmaking courses in both County Durham and Redcar and an anchor organisation for Durham Youth Print working together with TCR Hub to build a new youth network in the Durham Dales area.
As a VONNE member and a representative of organisations working with young people, VONNE invited Jack Drum Arts to join a scoping exercise to better understand the environmental needs of the VCSE sector. These discussions helped to inform VONNE’s Going Green Together project. When the Become Green Together training programme and Act Green Together project development seed fund opportunities were launched, Jack Drum Arts quickly got involved.
Jack Drum Arts have exemplified the can-do attitude needed to make positive, impactful change happen in tackling the climate crisis. It’s not easy work — getting started on this journey has been time-intensive — but they’re confident that as their environmental strategies and processes become more embedded and a climate-led approach is normalised, climate action will become more accessible. They’re also adamant that it’s not something they can afford not to do, as an organisation who cares deeply about the environment and the impact the climate emergency will have both on their communities and the wider planet.
You can read the full case study of Jack Drum Arts' involvement through the Going Green Together website.