Small World Sparks Creativity in Keighley with Donated Software
Over the last 10 years, Small World in west Yorkshire has used the creative and participatory arts to engage adult groups and people with special needs. It focuses in particular on young people who are struggling in school. The organization has worked on a range of projects with young people from all over Keighley, but concentrates on at-risk youth in the community's urban and disadvantaged areas. Small World offers a range of classes from creative writing for young women and girls, to dance, painting, and playing in a rock band.
As more young people in the community experience the arts, more interest develops, and the organization creates new projects. In 2009 alone, Small World collaborated with 18 local organizations and served 5,500 youth with the help of six volunteers, three part-time staff, and seven local artists.
Small World has received several donations through Technology Trust Exchange, the donation program of Technology Trust, a TechSoup Global Network partner [since June 2019 called Charity Digital]. The donated software equipped the center's small IT network, and the Visio software has been particularly helpful. It let the organization produce professional-looking building plans for an expansion of its physical space, which helped to keep overall costs down. The drawings have also been used by a game-design student volunteer who is creating a 3D model of the building for a new website.
