Social Action

We know that lots of events and activities people would normally be taking part in have had to be cancelled. Whilst you are at home, there are still ways that you can be involved in your community and show your commitment to creating a fairer society in which everyone has the opportunity to live their best life.

This year, in particular, it is a chance to show how small changes and simple things that we can all do can make a huge difference.

Here are some ideas for things you can do as an individual, as part of a community group or with your school:

#ChallengeAccepted

Do something simple to help others and pass it on! We are setting three different kinds of challenges – do good (a simple act of kindness to help others in your community); get creative (express what living your best life looks like for you through your chosen artform); or share the learning (find out about Stephen’s story and share it). Choose the challenge that suits you, or, if you’re feeling ambitions, why not do all three? Download our #ChallengeAccepted pack to help you get started.

Discover the next poetry sensation

Discover the next poetry sensation – Young people from the Eggtooth project in Hastings were inspired to write and perform spoken word poetry about Stephen’s life. You can see the amazing video they created here. Why not get people in your group to write their own poem using the title ‘Live your best life: a poem for Stephen’ . Ask them to share it with the group. Even better, if they’re feeling confident they could post it online for others to enjoy!

Draw on your talents

Why not hold a competition to design a poster that celebrates Stephen’s life – you can hold an virtual exhibition by putting everyone’s entries on your website, if you have one, or getting everyone to post them on their own social media. It’s a great way to share some positive images.

Plan a positive change for the future

Social Action projects can include activities such as campaigning, volunteering and fundraising – all of which have a massive impact on local communities and young people. Together, we want to create positive change for local communities and the young people who live in them, by encouraging more young people to become social change activists. To find out more about the Community Social Action Toolkit email info@stephenlawrenceday.org to find out how to start you can start your own project in your school or local community. Read about some of the incredible things community groups round the country did last year here.