A PAIR of city charities which rely on fund-raising to survive are celebrating after being handed a cheque to the tune of more than £5,000 by the organisers of Worcester Music Festival.
Worcester Deaf Children’s Society and Sight Concern Worcestershire, this year’s festival chosen charities, were over the moon to receive the joint donation of £5,462, raised through collections, a raffle and wristband sales during August’s event.
Alison Hunt, chair of Worcester Deaf Children’s Society, a voluntary group run by parents which provides support to 60 families in the area, said the donation would help fund a dream project.
“Each year, Deaf Direct runs a great residential summer camp for local, deaf children, but we have always wanted to run one ourselves for the whole family, enabling children and parents to share the experience together,” she said.
“Until now, we just haven’t been able to afford it.
“This donation will go a long way in helping us to fulfil this dream, while the festival itself has given us confidence to shout about what we do and helped to raise our profile locally.”
The free festival, which has raised more than £30,000 for local charities since its first outing six years ago, including a significant donation each year from the Bransford Trust, further supported its chosen charities for 2013 by including a song sign performance and a talk on sight loss in this year’s diverse programme of 35 workshops.
Thousands of festival goers flocked to see more than 240 acts from the county and beyond perform at 36 city centre venues, from pubs, clubs and cafes to historic buildings, an eco-centre, a leisure cruise boat and an independent record shop.
Keith Hoare, fund-raising officer for Sight Concern Worcestershire based in Sansome Walk, added: “Music can mean so much to people who have lost their sight, and it was great to be involved with this year’s festival.
“We hope to use the donation to run a music group, support the musicians who already use our centre, and improve access to musical activities for the many people we support.”
For more details, visit www.wumufest.co.uk, www.sightconcern.co.uk and www.worcdcs.org.
