Member Article

Wilmslow singing group awarded £500 funding boost

The Oakmere Singers Association has been awarded a £500 grant after applying to Equilibrium Asset Management’s Cheshire East Community Support Scheme.

The Wilmslow-based singing group is made up of retired Handforth residents who regularly perform concerts throughout the community at retirement and nursing homes, dementia care homes. The group has also performed at summer fairs and for the Queen’s birthday.

The group donates part of its proceeds to local charities annually and has supported charities including Handforth Community War Memorial Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Society and East Cheshire Hospice.

Equilibrium’s donation will allow the group to invest in new equipment including speakers, microphones, stands and leads. This will allow the group play to larger audiences with more of a focus on solo and duet performances.

Leo Shorrock, secretary of the Oakmere Singers Association said:

“We are thrilled to receive this generous grant from Equilibrium, which will finally allow us to purchase some much-needed new equipment. All of our members absolutely love singing and it is really rewarding to see the positive impact it has when we go into care homes to perform.

’‘We’re committed to raising money for local charities our members care about passionately about and the new equipment we buy with this funding will help us to perform in bigger venues, where a quality sound system and a mixing desk are needed.

’’In turn, this will help us raise more money for charity, so we are really excited to get out performing and put our new equipment into action. During our concerts certain members of the group perform solos and duets, a new addition to our performances. This funding allows us to invest in the equipment which will help improve the sound quality of these performances.“

Oakmere Singers Association first started performing as a group in 2012 and holds rehearsals on Mondays at Oakmere retirement complex on Spath Lane at 7pm.

Speaking about the decision to award Oakmere Singers Association with the grant, Debbie Jukes, partner and head of client care at Equilibrium Asset Management, said:

“The Oakmere Singers provide a fantastic service, going into care homes across the region to perform. It’s easy to overlook the benefit of something as simple as music but their performances have a hugely positive effect for the residents they visit.

’‘It’s also brilliant to support an association which is committed to helping deserving charities across the region. Giving back to the community is a huge part of our ethos here at Equilibrium, it’s the driving force behind why we run the community support scheme, so we were really keen to support an organisation that shared those values too.

’‘We’re looking forward to catching the group in action in this year as they begin performing to larger audiences and raising even more money for charity.’’

The Cheshire East Community Support Scheme awards grants ranging from £100 - £500 to community organisations and charities.

Applications for the 2017 scheme opened on Monday 9 January and groups across Cheshire East can apply by visiting http://eqllp.co.uk/the-foundation/cheshire-east-community-support-scheme/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ben Smith .