Youth Circus Star Raises Funds With A Sponsored Bike Ride

Youth Circus Star Raises Funds With A Sponsored Bike Ride

From Passion to Action

A Youth’s Message on Supporting Skylight Through a Sponsored Bike Ride

At Skylight we are constantly blown away by the dedication and creativity of our young people.

This summer one of our Youth Circus members decided to take on a challenge outside the our circus home here at Skylight, swapping diabolos and bouncy stilts for a bike and setting off on a sponsored ride with his family to raise money for Skylight.

Here’s a little message from Charlie, who wanted to share why Skylight means so much to him…

I decided to do a sponsored bike ride to raise funds for Skylight Circus Arts because I have been a member for a couple of years and they have helped me gain my confidence, they have helped me make friends but they have also accepted me for myself. Skylight saved me when I was at a low point in life and when I was struggling to accept I had autism, they encourage me to be the best I can be and provide a fun safe place for me to learn new things and socialise with adjustments if needed, and I feel it’s nice to show how much myself and family appreciate all members and staff at Skylight by raising funds for future events or equipment.

Charlie, Youth Circus Participant

Hearing Charlies story celebrates why we do what we do here at Skylight. Building confidence, bringing together community and celebrating creativity are at the heart of what we do and it means so much to hear how Skylight has been part of his journey.

How does support like this help?

Charlie raised a whopping £270.50, the money raised will go towards our classes, equipment and further opportunities to help us to continue to support more young people just like Charlie. Every mile he pedalled has a direct impact on helping others experience the happiness, belonging and purpose that circus brings.

Thank you!

From all of us at Skylight, an enormous thank you to Charlie for commitment, kindness and generosity. You’re an inspiration to us all. Not forgetting a big thank you to his parents, for always supporting and shouting about the work we do here at Skylight… and of course for helping us to pack up and carry all of our circus equipment after every workshop you find us at! You truly are a wonderful family with big hearts! Lastly, thank you to all that supported Charlie in raising funds for us here at Skylight.

Make A Difference Today

If you’ve been inspired by Charlie’s story and want to join him in creating pathways for future generations here at Skylight, please suppport us by sharing our work with your friends, families & networks.

Support Us

A huge thank you to Postcode Lottery People

A huge thank you to Postcode Lottery People

Thank you!

Thanks to the support of players of Postcode Lottery, Skylight Circus has been able to keep developing our weekly circus and aerial classes in the heart of Rochdale.

We’ve expand our youth programmes with Spotlight and bring circus to the elderly in our Silver Circus projects and successfully restart our much loved Sky Hi sessions for children with SEND.

 

“Sky Hi has been incredible for her, she absolutely loves it at Skylight. She gets the sensory output she needs and she can just be herself. Her favourite is the aerial cocoons because she loves being upside down.”

Our sessions have also supported older participants and young people across the borough, helping them build confidence, independence and a sense of belonging.

Participants have developed physical and creative skills, made friends and enjoyed performing in front of audiences, showing just how far they’ve grown.

We are incredibly grateful to the players of People’s Postcode Lottery for making this possible. Your generosity has brought joy, connection and growth to so many people in Rochdale and the impact will continue to be felt in the months and years ahead.

To get involved and experience Skylight Circus for yourself, you could join a class, bring us to your staff team with our team-building workshops for adults or a school workshop for children or young people.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see all the wonderful moments your support has made possible.

Culture Quest | Encouraging and supporting families to explore their town of culture

Culture Quest | Encouraging and supporting families to explore their town of culture

We’re proud to have supported the development of a new campaign to support and encourage families in Rochdale to explore their town of culture.

Culture Quest aims to give families information, motivation and support to discover the wide range of cultural places, activities and events in Rochdale.

The Culture Quest webpage includes a map of cultural places, a list of family friendly events and information about how to travel in and around Rochdale Borough as a family.

Over the summer holidays families can take part in the digital Culture Quest Challenge and have the chance to win prizes by visiting cultural places and collecting points along the way.

Prizes include free cinema tickets, art materials and a camera! 

The challenge runs from 23 July – 31 August and is aimed at families with children aged 7 – 11.

Watch the video below to find out more.

Thank You to The Foyle Foundation for Supporting Spotlight

Thank You to The Foyle Foundation for Supporting Spotlight

We want to say a big thank you to The Foyle Foundation for believing in young people, creativity and circus.

We’re absolutely delighted to share that we’ve received funding from The Foyle Foundation to continue developing Spotlight, our youth circus performance troupe. This support means so much and allows us to build on what we’ve started, giving young people more opportunities to grow, learn and shine.

With this funding we’re bringing in professional artists, performers and people working across the creative industries to share their skills and experiences with our Spotlight group. They’re helping our young performers build their circus and aerial skills, explore their creativity and gain a better understanding of how to pursue a career in the arts.

This funding means Spotlight can train weekly and we’ve been supporting our young Spotlight volunteers as they teach and perform at local events. We also had the fantastic opportunity to take Spotlight to the Lowry to see Upswing, a visiting professional circus company. As part of that experience Upswing came to Skylight and ran a brilliant workshop for the group. Opportunities like this simply wouldn’t be possible without the support of The Foyle Foundation.

Looking ahead, we’re planning a full programme for late summer and autumn, with workshops, training, creative projects and performances.

A heartfelt thank you to The Foyle Foundation for believing in the next generation of circus artists. Your support is helping us nurture young talent and create meaningful pathways into the creative world.

Keep an eye out for what’s coming next, we’ve got lots in the pipeline and we can’t wait to share it with you

Upswing Workshop June 2025

Spotlight’s Journey Continues with Hays Travel Foundation Support

Spotlight’s Journey Continues with Hays Travel Foundation Support

We are proud to say a big thank you to The Hays Travel Foundation for supporting our Spotlight youth performance group this spring and early summer.

Thanks to this funding, our Spotlight performers have been able to continue training together every week, developing their skills and confidence through circus and aerial arts.

They’ve worked with professional circus artists, performed live at Rochdale Town Hall, and even had the chance to watch world-renowned company Gandini Juggling at The Lowry Theatre. Big thanks to The Lowry for supporting that trip too.

The group are now busy preparing to perform again later this month at Rochdale’s Feel Good Family Picnics, bringing high-energy circus to families across the borough alongside a chance for everyone to get their hands on circus and aerial themselves in our drop-in workshops!

One Spotlight member told us:

“Being in Spotlight has been the best thing, like we get to push ourselves so much more now and my circus skills are improving, I’m also feeling more confident in my performances.”

This support has made a real difference to our young people, giving them a platform to grow, express themselves, and shine together as a team.

We’re grateful to be part of the amazing work The Hays Travel Foundation makes possible for young people across the country.

You can find out more about them at The Hays Travel Foundation 

Hays Travel Foundation on Facebook and LinkedIn

Best wishes from all at Skylight Circus Arts and Spotlight!