Lighthouse Poetry Competition: Charity and Emerging Talents

As Christmas is approaching, do you feel the urge to prove you are a good person, so Santa can bring you a nice present? And do you feel there is a poet inside of you, who never had the chance to shine?

Former King’s College student Arthur G. Peirce provides you the perfect opportunity to reveal your inner poet while supporting the noble charity campaign of Lighthouse Relief.

“I had already volunteered with Help Refugees and Refugee Community Kitchen in 2016 and 2017, and wanted to volunteer in Greece. This is how I first heard of them.” – Arthur shares about his decision in joining the group of volunteers, whose goal is to provide refugees in Greece, especially children, young people and women, with safe, healthy and educated lifestyle.

Roar had the pleasure of interviewing him and finding out more about the charity poetry competition the organisation is currently running.

“It’s this openness which I like most, this poetry competition was my idea for example, so though I’m in a relatively low position, I feel my work has a real impact. In King’s I took a course on writing poetry, and this kindled in me a great love for poetry, and I’ve written and studied poetry since. At the moment my organisation is running a fundraiser which seeks to help the children we work with adjust to the Greek school system. We hope to provide the children with lunch, school supplies, and Greek language classes. To assist in this, I wanted people to think about how their education has benefited them (hence the theme: “what education means to me”). Plus I have always felt poetry is the greatest and most effective form of self-expression, so if people can express themselves truly, while at the same time supporting a great cause, I feel there is something powerful in that…if that makes sense.”

“The fundraiser itself is contentiously ongoing, I try to avoid thinking of a specific amount I hope to raise… let’s just say the more the merrier. But every entry will have a great impact.”

So, if there are any hidden poets out there, or good-hearted people, Arthur encourages you to check The First Lighthouse Relief Poetry Competition. The fee is only 10 euros, and all of the money raised will go for the charity. If you are a shy person, don’t worry because you can be kept anonymous, if requested. However, you have to hurry up because the deadline for submitting a maximum of 25-lines long poem on the topic of “what education means to me”, is midnight, 1st December (22:00 UK time).

“I guess we’ll know it when we see it!”, Arthur shares in regards to the picking of the winner, who will be published on the campaign’s website.

But as all participants would have contributed to such a great cause, everyone should feel like a winner, so don’t be afraid, and give it a shot:

“Every single entry will have a massive impact on our work and the aid we provide. Every penny of the entrance fee will go towards our efforts!”, he concludes.

More information about the project and the application process can be found here: https://medium.com/lighthouse-relief/the-first-lighthouse-relief-poetry-competition-b9444d775f2f