Pupils to pen ‘Poems for Peace’

Ocado teams up with non-profit organisation, Peace One Day and children’s author, Francesca Simon to get school kids writing poems for Peace

LONDON, 18^th June 2013: Over 90,000 students from thousands of schools across the UK will write ‘Poems for Peace’ in a competition devised by online supermarket Ocado and non-profit organisation Peace One Day.

Developed by Ocado as part of its longtime partnership with Peace One Day, the ‘Poems for Peace’ campaign asks children explore the theme of Peace and what it means to them. It forms part of the wider Primary Education Resource which Ocado supports – dedicated lesson plans for parents and teachers to download to educate children about Peace and violence reduction both domestically and internationally.

Parents and teachers can download the Ocado ‘Poems for Peace’ lesson plan from the Peace One Day website (www.peaceoneday.org/resource) or through a specially designed Peace Aisle (www.ocado.com/peace) which has been created to encourage Ocado customers to think about how they can make Peace on a more local level within their own homes.   

Ocado has recruited renowned children’s author of the Horrid Henry series and schools literacy champion, Francesca Simon to be involved with the campaign to judge the entries from across the nation. Francesca commented, “I’m thrilled to be involved in this worthy cause which engages not only the children but their parents and families, asking them to use their creativity and imagination to write about Peace.”

Jason Gissing, Ocado co-founder and Peace One Day education ambassador said, “As a dad I want my kids to grow up in a world where Peace is a reality for all, not just a dream. Engaging school children is vital in this process as they are the next generation of Peacemakers – this is why Ocado continue to support the Peace One Day Primary Education Resource.”

Poems can then be entered into the competition with the most creative entry winning a trip to The Hague for this year’s Peace One Day concert which last year featured performances by Elton John and Eliza Dolittle. This year’s performers will be announced on 19^th June.

The winner of the competition will also have their ‘Poem for Peace’ printed on a limited edition tea towel which will be sold exclusively through Ocado with all profits going to Peace One Day. The tea towels will be in homes across the UK and serve as a year-round reminder of the importance of Peace.

Filmmaker and founder of Peace One Day, Jeremy Gilley, continued: “We’re delighted to be working with Ocado on this project. The ‘Poem for Peace’ lesson plan is a fantastic addition to Peace One Day’s free Primary Education Resource.  Young people have always been at the heart of Peace One Day’s work and this competition is a great way to engage them.”