7th March 2023
For immediate release.
Last year, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus raised over £3,000 for charities near and dear to their heart, to give back to the local community who have held their hands and their hearts for many years.
To celebrate their first full year of performances since the pandemic Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus raised over £3000 in 2022 for local good causes. These include Pedal People; a charity based in Brighton offering ‘accessible cycle rides and wind-in-hair wellbeing’; and Allsorts Youth Project, a local charity that envisions ‘a world where LGBT+ children and young people are free to be themselves.’
As a singing tour de force and staple of both Brighton Fringe Festival and the city’s wider Christmas festivities, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus know how to put on a show and entertain a crowd. However, for all their professionalism onstage they are at heart a community choir and as such it’s very important to both the organisation and its members that they actively support the wider part of the city they represent.
One of the most important ways they do this is raising money for local charities. Last year’s Fringe Festival saw BrightonGMC host an imaginary battle to crown the ultimate diva and they used this show to raise money for the Allsorts Youth Project. In total £600 was raised which was used by Allsorts to support young LGBT+ people who are facing discrimination, prejudice and exclusion.
In December BrightonGMC chose to raise funds for Pedal People via their sell out Christmas Show “Ding Dong!”. In total they raised an astonishing £2610 which will be used by the charity to continue their excellent work providing assisted cycle rides to the elderly and less-abled.
Injections of funding are becoming increasingly important for small charities as Elly Hargreave, Captain at Pedal People explains, “The reality for all charities, especially local small ones like us – is that people like to ‘buy a thing’ when they fundraise but the truth is 99% of the time it’s the costs of running ‘the thing’ so we are incredibly glad of BGMC support to do just that.”
BrightonGMC Trustee George Holroyd ads, “As a chorus we feel it’s hugely important to do what we can to raise funds for good causes, but also to use our platform to highlight charities that mean something to us. Many of our members have used the various charities we work with and last year was no exception – in fact Pedal People is particularly dear to us”.
Indeed, in late 2021, chorus member Adam Betteridge’s long-term partner Freddie suffered a serious debilitating stroke. In the months since, both have found the support and services provided by Pedal People invaluable.
As part of the fundraising initiative, Adam made a moving speech during the recent BrightonGMC Christmas show telling the audiences, “Pedal People is such a worthwhile charity, helping us, and those like us, get some essential exercise and restore a sense of independence whilst battling against the perhaps inevitable feelings of loneliness, isolation and indeed depression that have crept into our lives.”
Further Info:
Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus was founded in 2005 and has approximately 100 members. They perform regular sell out shows in the Brighton area, including as part of Brighton Fringe Festival and are looking forward to international shows in both Spain and Italy over the next 12 months. Their founding principles are the 3 S’s – Singing, Socialising and Support.
Allsorts Youth Project was founded in 1999 by Jess Wood MBE and James Newton. It has now been delivering LGBT+ youth services for over two decades. Allsorts’ approach to working with children and young people encourages them to learn about themselves, society and others through informal educational activities which are challenging and fun.
Pedal People offer cycle rides and wind-in-hair wellbeing for elders and anyone living with disability or health challenges. Uniquely they train carers and volunteers to pilot rides, enabling important connections with participants and access to seafront and green spaces throughout Brighton and Hove. They are a small, independent, local charity.
Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus will once again be performing at Brighton Fringe Festival. For 2023 they are presenting their special “After Dark” show which promises to expose the chorus in a way never before seen. Tickets, including premium cabaret tables, are available at https://tickets.brightongmc.org/
ENDS
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
ABOUT BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS
Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus was established in January 2005 and has about 100 members. It provides a space where people can celebrate music, enjoy the fellowship of other like-minded people and contribute to the local communities it’s a part of.
The Chorus has three guiding principles, their “Three S’s”:
- Singing – the celebration of life and music through male voice harmonies;
- Socialising – using this activity to develop social bonds that help people to feel connected with a sometimes lonely world; and
- Support – to be there for each other – both collectively and individually – when the chips are down, and to be there for the communities in which the chorus operates, too.
The Chorus is a registered charity, no. 1171020, with 3 key charitable objectives:
- To promote public education by the study, practice and public performance of choral music; and to assist other charitable causes.
- For the public benefit to advance and promote the education of gay and gay-friendly men in Brighton and Hove in the subject of choral music, its study, practice and performance.
- The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, in particular but not exclusively by raising public awareness of discrimination towards and issues affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, and in such other ways as are exclusively charitable as the Trustees may from time to time determine.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
PR & Marketing Contact:
Simon Watts
PR & Marketing Co-ordinator
pr@brightongmc.org
Links to this Press Release
Short Link: http://bgmc.me/?p=8606