Ink and Soul CIC is creating a travelling reading and storytelling sanctuary, housed in a lovingly refurbished horse trailer. The Lost Luggage Library will bring free access to books, workshops and professional performances to community centres, local events, schools and hospitals across Rossendale and the North West. Built through personal investment, second hand materials and the dedication of a tiny team, the project has already gone as far as it can on resource alone. This funding will transform how much we can give back to the community. A large bespoke gazebo will create a safer, more accessible and welcoming space next to the trailer; a screen free listening station will open up storytelling through audio; and improved tables and storage will allow more inclusive, high quality workshops. These elements are vital to our mission of making reading, writing and storytelling radically accessible, helping us reach more people and create deeper, more immersive creative experiences.

What we'll deliver:

• The Lost Luggage Library will travel Rossendale and Northwest as a free-to-access reading, writing, storytelling space.
• Integration of a bespoke marquee, making the Lost Luggage Library an accessible & safe creative space.
• With a larger marquee, we will have more room for larger numbers of workshop participants.
• In a larger marquee, we will provide a larger range of books, offering more genres & ages
• We will add a new Listening Station; an audio point for stories and poems – including some written in our workshops.
• We will upgrade our small workshop table to two larger tables, allowing us to give space to more workshop participants.
• We will offer a space where communities can interact freely without worry of rules, noise or restrictions

Why it's a great idea:

Our Project; • Makes reading, writing and storytelling radically accessible by taking them directly into communities and healthcare settings, rather than expecting people to travel to cultural venues. • Improves local access to books and creative activity in areas with limited provision, creating a visible, welcoming arts space in public and community settings. • Supports children and young people experiencing isolation through illness or disadvantage, offering free, low pressure opportunities to read, write and create. • Offers an open space that is free of rules, restrictions, noise limitations and judgment, offering an alternative option to libraries and theatres • Builds confidence and connection through shared storytelling, strengthening community relationships and valuing imagination as part of everyday life. • Champions new, inclusive approaches to creative writing that respond to different abilities and neurodivergent ways of thinking, making participation genuinely accessible.

Steps to get it done:

• Working with a designer to select and design a beautiful, bespoke marquee.
• Purchasing and adapting the new marquee structure to become a part of the Lost Luggage Library mobile set up.
• Designing the new Listening Station in the book nook - selecting and designing the operating system.
• Purchasing and mounting the new Listening Station - and then selecting audiobooks and poems to populate the system.
• Selecting and purchasing upgraded workshop equipment including larger folding tables and storage equipment for paper..
• Taking the new equipment for their first event!