Tag Archives: fundraiser

Alfie Boe Shares Some Love for Rays of Sunshine

Thanks everyone – happy to announce that we raised £225 for Rays of Sunshine! You are all amazing and I know that the charity are thrilled. The link is still open if anyone want to share the love with Rays of Charity – click here.

Valentine’s Day is almost here and to celebrate, thoughtsofjustafan is sharing the love by raising money for one of Alfie Boe’s charities, Rays of Sunshine. Share some love on behalf of Alfie and donate to the thoughtsofjustafan Just Giving page – click here. Here is Alfie asking us to share:

Alfie became involved after singing at the charity’s annual fund raising dinner in 2017, alongside Michael Ball. The pair then decided to record the song they sang that evening:

The Rays of Sunshine children’s choir were also featured and then made a simply unforgettable appearance on stage with Alfie and Michael in London. Excitingly, the choir might make a further appearance with Alfie at the Royal Albert Hall on his upcoming tour!

Rays of Sunshine was founded in 2003 to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and those with life limiting conditions and the work they do mainly consists of granting magical wishes. Every day, the charity gives these children and young people, aged three to eighteen, the chance to put their illness on hold and enjoy a moment of escape. Hospital wards can also benefit from magical wishes and have included decorating treatment rooms, purchasing equipment, funding sensory room and funding an indoor sensory garden. Another hospital centred activity are hospital activity days; every week of the year the team bring sunshine to children on the wards of hospitals across the country through entertainment such as Bollywood dancers and imaginative arts and crafts. These events provide distraction and reduce isolation for children receiving long term treatment in hospital.

This Valentine’s Day, Alfie is asking you, the fans, to ‘share some love’ and donate via the thoughtsofjustafan JustGiving page – click here.

thanks for reading – please share and donate!

if you like what you see, why not subscribe?


all your Alfie news straight to your inbox

plus 4 exclusive photos and a welcome message from Alfie

xx

Final Total Announced for Alfie Boe’s Fleetwood Homecoming

As if any Alfie Boe fan could forget, his homecoming concert in Fleetwood on 2 June was spectacular and a one off.

Not only was it special for the obvious reason of seeing Alfie perform (photo, Annie Lloyd) in his home town but it was also a major fundraiser for Alfie’s local charity, Trinity and Brian House Hospices.

As well as £2 from each ticket sale going directly to the charity, there were also several large donations on the night plus £2,700 in bucket collections.  It has now been revealed that the amount raised through ticket sales alone was £16,382, making a grand total of £22,082 – enough to fund a whole week at the children’s hospice, Brian House.  Well done everyone – that’s amazing!

Brian House is on the same site as Trinity. With space for four children as in-patients, the service supports over eighty families in total, meeting complex needs, providing support for the family and care for children who will not be cured of their illness. Respite care, which is provided at regular intervals, gives families the opportunity to experience times of relief and normality. When a child’s life is limited it puts enormous pressure on every member of the family as they try to cope with the emotional, practical and financial implications. It can be really hard for brothers and sisters too, so for all the family, Brian House is a support mechanism. This support continues even when the service is no longer required as each child that passes away is named on the memory tree; many families find comfort in being able to return to see their child’s name. I was lucky enough to look around before the Fleetwood concert and I have to say that it’s an amazing place. The kitchen is a hive of activity and with its sweet shop colour theme and giant marshmallow decorations looks good enough to eat! Each of the four bedrooms has a theme, with one specially designed for teenagers. The lounge areas are spacious enough for group music therapy (beds can be accommodated), and for informal play and relaxation. The sensory room and corridor are an adventure of colour, light and sounds and the sound I could hear coming down the corridor was chat and laughter from children and adults alike.

Although a week’s funding from one event is wonderful, Trinity and Brian House need to continue providing help to the local community and so the fundraising never ends.  If you would like to join the next fan fundraiser, then your luck is in because thoughtsofjustafan’s annual Alfie Boe YouTube Marathon is taking place over the weekend of 11 and 12 August.  For a fun weekend of watching your favourite Alfie Boe videos whilst donating to Trinity, click here to join the Facebook event.  If you don’t have Facebook, never fear, click here to donate anyway. All who participate in the marathon will be eligible to win a signed Trinity hoodie!

 

thanks for reading – please share

if you like what you see, why not subscribe?

all your Alfie news straight to your inbox

plus 4 exclusive photos and a welcome message from Alfie

xx

Alfie Boe’s Birthday Fundraiser for Nordoff Robbins

Another year rolls around to September which means that it’s time for Alfie’s birthday (29 September).  To celebrate, Alfie is once again donating his birthday to Nordoff Robbins, the music therapy charity for which he is an ambassador.  Alfie said about this now annual fundraiser

I am proud to once again be donating my birthday to Nordoff Robbins for what will now be my sixth year! I am prouder still to call myself an Ambassador for this wonderful charity, whose music therapy work has changed so many lives. But unfortunately they receive no government funding, so with your support and your generosity together we can help to ensure that their music therapy is available to all those who need it, and so that they can continue changing lives for years to come. Join me in supporting them this year and let’s use this opportunity to celebrate this charity, and the power of music!

And Alfie has also sent us a short video message:

Alfie became an ambassador for Nordoff Robbins in November 2011 following his win of the PPL Classical Award at the 2011 Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards. His ambassadorship was launched alongside the 2011 Christmas appeal which he spearheaded.  When I spoke to CEO Julie Whelan last year, she mentioned how important Alfie and other ambassadors are to the charity: “Alfie Boe is someone who gives his time to support us and also, through his fans he brings a whole new set of people who are aware of Nordoff Robbins and what we do.  Having that has made us much more confident as a charity”.

Ever since, Alfie has dedicated his birthday to the charity and his fans have responded with enthusiasm, raising over £9200.  Wow!  Do you think we could get over the £10,000 mark in 2017?  I bet we can – click here to donate (choose Alfie Boe from the drop down menu).  The video below shows Alfie supporting Nordoff Robbins in 2015, alongside their choir and singer Miel de Botton:

Nordoff Robbins as a fundraising charity recently celebrated it’s fortieth year, but the foundations of the therapy itself go back to 1959 when Paul Nordoff, an American composer and pianist and Clive Robbins, a special education teacher first developed collaborative music making which they termed ‘therapy in music’. Over the next fifteen years, this therapy was developed and delivered all over the world with the first centre opening in South London in 1970. Programmes for adults began in the latter part of this era. Since then, the charity has grown and grown and is now the largest single music therapy organisation in the UK, dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable and isolated people. Although Alfie’s special area of interest is providing music therapy and education for children, this is by no means the only group to be helped. People with dementia, depression, terminal or chronic illnesses and people with brain injuries are also amongst the recipients of the specialist therapy available. In some cases, music therapy is part of palliative care. In addition, the families and communities of those who receive therapy are also helped, thus ensuring a broad reach approach.  The video below demonstrates what they do:

thanks for reading – please, if you can, donate and please share as much as you can

if you like what you see, why  not subscribe?

all your Alfie news straight to your inbox

plus 4 exclusive Alfie photos

xx