As fans of Alfie Boe will know, the end of this month brings Alfie’s birthday – 29 September to be precise. Also, each year, Alfie donates his birthday to one of his charities and this year, Trinity Hospice and Brian House Children’s Hospice have been chosen to receive donations.
If you would like to wish Alfie a happy birthday and support Trinity, please click here to visit the thoughtsofjustafan Just Giving site.
In particular, Alfie wishes to support a team from Trinity who are beginning a nine day trek along the Great Wall of China. Headed by fundraiser Janet, three nurses and around 18 local supporters will set off on 4th October – the Trinity staff are using their annual leave to do this! Here is a photo of Janet with Alfie (and Rebecca from the press team at Trinity) before Alfie’s Fleetwood concert:
Alfie became patron of Trinity back in 2011 and ever since, fans have been raising money to support the hospice in a variety of ways. Previous fundraisers have included virtual tea parties and the now annual Alfie Boe YouTube marathon which raised over £1200 this year alone. Also in 2018, Alfie’s Homecoming Fleetwood concert raised enough money, from ticket sales and bucket collections, to run Brian House for a whole week.
However much or little you can donate helps the vital work the hospice does, so to wish Alfie a happy birthday please click here to support Trinity.
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:
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