WELSH MUSIC PROJECT RECOGNISED AT NATIONAL AWARDS

Music in Hospitals and Care scoops 2,500 at ScottishPower Foundation Awards

A pioneering project in Wales being delivered by charity Music in Hospitals & Care will receive an extra 2,500 funding boost after being named as the ‘Innovative Project’ runner-up at the Scottish Power Foundation Awards in Glasgow.

Music in Hospitals & Care delivers high-quality concerts to sick, elderly and disabled people, performed by professional musicians. It works in care and residential homes, hospitals, hospices, day centres and special schools, and last year delivered 5,590 live music concerts.

The charity recognised an opportunity to use its concerts as a lever to increase social interaction for its audience members. It developed a project called Open for Music which encourages care homes to invite people living in the surrounding areas to attend the concerts hosted by Music in Hospitals & Care.

The project addresses issues of loneliness by encouraging socialisation between care home residents and people living nearby, and establishing friendships and repeat visits on a long-term basis.

Sarah Bax, Marketing and Sponsorship manager from Music in Hospitals & Care, attended the ceremony which took place at the new HQ of ScottishPower, funder of the ScottishPower Foundation. Winners received an additional 5,000 with runners-up receiving 2,500 each for their charity.

ROBERT AITKEN CBE, DIRECTOR MIHC WALES: “The idea of opening care homes to the general public is not new but the various initiatives that have tried to achieve this have struggled to find a way to attract new people to come and visit the care venues. By using the invitation of live music concerts hosted by professional musicians, Open For Music has made real progress in improving socialisation of care home residents which also raises the morale of care staff and draws communities closer together.

“We’re very grateful to the ScottishPower Foundation for this recognition of our work and the additional funds. The money means we will be able to extend Open for Music into wider community groups, and perhaps even in England and Scotland.”

ANN MCKECHIN, TRUSTEE AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE SCOTTISHPOWER FOUNDATION, SAID: “Music in Hospitals & Care has found a way to bring together the community in a very poignant way and it’s fantastic to hear Open for Music is already having profound effects on care home residents, its staff and even the local community. The project is very worthy of its runner up prize and we’re delighted the additional funding will support this great cause.”

The ScottishPower Foundation was established in 2013 to support charitable projects and reinforce the energy company’s commitment to charitable work throughout the UK. The Awards ceremony is now in its fourth year and has become a yearly platform celebrate the work of the projects which the Foundation has provided funding to during 2017.

This year it donated more than 1.8M to 26 organisations.