For Everyone At Birmingham Children's Hospital

As part of World Calligraphy Day, Manuscript Pen Company partnered up with Birmingham Children's Hospital and decided to launch 'Say Something Special'. A project to bring a smile to the children who are currently being treated there.

Manuscript decided to start this campaign and ask celebrities, influencers, politicians, keen writers, companies and the general public to spare a thought for those in hospital and to write a letter, poem or encouraging message to those less fortunate.

I thought this was such a wonderful and admirable idea and so I of course was desperate to get involved.

As I am from Wolverhampton, Birmingham Children's Hospital isn't too far from my hometown and so it feels a bit more personal to me.

Each letter that is sent will be forwarded to the hospital along with some products for the children to get creative with themselves! 

I was very kindly sent over some lovely calligraphy markers to get creative with and to be honest I knew exactly what I wanted to write.

When I was child, if ever I got scared by anything I would repeat a poem over and over to myself and somehow it made everything better. 

This was a poem that was written on a 'Me To You Bear' that my brother bought me when he left home to join the army.

If I missed him or needed him, I said it to myself and it brought instant comfort.

'Wherever you are, 

Whatever you do, 

You know I will always be there for you, 

So if you're alone, 

There's no need to fear, 

Just give me a call, 

And you know I'll be here'

These are words that I'll never forget, they are ingrained into my memory and they are also words that I can relate to now as an adult, I don't talk to my brother super often but I know if ever I needed him he would do anything for me, as would I for him.

These words are special to me and I would LOVE if they could get another child through some hardships. Even if they only read it once and it gave them a little encouragement in that moment, then I would be happy. 

Although I wasn't a child who spent time in hospital myself, I like to think that this poem can be used by anybody in any situation they see fit. 

This is an open letter to any of the children in the hospital, you are incredibly brave and you're never alone. Stay strong and get well soon. I hope the outpouring support you are about to receive can makes things a little easier. So many people care about you! 

To the staff at the hospital, you are what the world needs more of, thank you for being so caring and bringing smiles to the children's faces, they rely on you and you are important to them. I can't imagine the long hours, the heartbreak and the overwhelming nature of the job but as an outsider I would like to say I admire you and keep doing what you're doing. 

Manuscript very kindly sent me these calligraphy pens (which are amazing quality by the way) (Available at Paperchase). 

I really wanted to get super creative on my letter to the hospital. I remember doing calligraphy at primary school once and I had a knack for it so I was super confident that I would make an absolute masterpiece. 

It didn't go to plan. I cannot do calligraphy so I just decided to do the best I could do :')

But it is something I can practice and potentially learn a new skill from so thank you to Manuscript for getting my creative juices flowing!

I was looking at other peoples pieces on social media and they put my letter to shame. Some people have made proper artwork and it's amazing! You can see these pieces by looking up the hashtag #saysomethingspecial 

Something that I think is super cool is that all the letters that are received before the 15th of august will become part of an exhibition at The Pen Museum in Birmingham on World Calligraphy Day! I sent mine off today so I'm hoping it gets featured! 

At The Pen Museum on the 15th of August there will be an event where a host of creatives will hold workshops in calligraphy! There will also be informative history sessions so if you're around the area and free that day I would highly recommend stopping by! 

To find out more about World Calligraphy Day visit https://www.calligraphy.co.uk/events/world-calligraphy-day-2018/ and register your name for the workshops! 

Best wishes to all the children, staff and families and friends of the children at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Stay strong.

Stacie x 

Disclaimer: This was part of a collaboration with Small Man Media. This is not a paid collaboration. All photos are my own. All words are my own.