From the very beginning of the Company's existence, we were determined to "put something back" into the community. We therefore allocated the sum of £1 from every full-price CD that we retailed into a special fund, which we are hoping one day to make an official, registered "charity".
We decided that we wanted to work in two areas - a] with the elderly and b] with children.
- The elderly, especially those in residential homes, away from family and from familiar surroundings, are supported by the subsidised provision of music playing equipment and CDs;
- The young are supported by means of our help with music education, especially singing.
THE ELDERLY: We have now supplied a number of residential homes with equipment and music and are looking to supply even more as time goes by.
CHILDREN: As regards children, with the support and help of several local schools we have now organised the formation of the "Derbyshire Dales Youth Choir". There are now about 26 children aged between 8 and 12 involved in this, with 7 more awaiting audition. The Company is covering the costs of music, uniform and tuition, as well as, in certain cases of necessity, transport for some of the children involved. The Duchess of Devonshire is the Patron of the Choir and the children are involved in various events throughout the year, social as well as performance.
If you know of a project that falls generally into the categories above and which you feel would benefit from help from us, please contact us with details. We cannot promise to help everyone, but will certainly consider anything submitted to us. (We regret that, currently, we are only able to consider projects based in the UK.)
