Fundraising has been vital to keep the music playing over the past 75 years. We are so grateful to our 298 regular supporters, who are fantastic ambassadors for the charity. Some have been giving a monthly donation for over 30 years, helping to share live music with hundreds of people in hospitals, care homes and in the community.

13 November is a very significant day for the charity. A meeting was held in 1947 that would lead to its creation the following year and the start of 75 years of joy through live music. On 13 November 2023 we launched a new video, which demonstrates our new vision, mission and purpose in action. The video had 1,889 online views.

We also took the opportunity to thank some of our supporters, musicians, funders and health and care partners for their contributions, roles within the charity and for their part in our 75th anniversary celebrations. 240 calls were made from our staff to thank each and every one of them for their support this year. We sent emails too with a special video message from our trustee Dimple Keen.

We were delighted to be successful for a BBC Radio 4 appeal to coincide with this important date. Our first BBC appeal was back in the early 1950s, with at least 10 more taking place between 1960 and 2015.

BBC broadcaster Mark Radcliffe voiced our 2023 appeal. Mark has a personal connection to music for health and wellbeing; he says music helped him through his recovery from throat and neck cancer. He also witnessed how music helped his mother, who had dementia. Mark remembers her singing ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ right up until the end.

Our appeal focused on Peter, who lives at Chester Park Care Home in Glasgow. He moved there after sustaining a neck injury and receiving treatment in hospital for several weeks. Peter is now in a wheelchair and receives full-time care.

The appeal raised £30,369 to help people like Peter to experience the healing power of live music. We were delighted that 70% of gifts were first time donations to Music in Hospitals & Care, meaning we reached a large new audience with the appeal.

We had nine runners at the 2023 London Marathon in April who raised a phenomenal £32,451 to share the healing power of live music. We are also very grateful to Finlay, who ran the Scottish Half Marathon in September and raised £515, and to Nick, who ran the Cardiff Half Marathon in October and raised £425.

Our musicians Peter and Moira Gutteridge raised £274.67 for us through busking this year. They were also invited to attend a
Royal Garden Party in May to celebrate the King’s Coronation.

“We had a lovely time, met The Duchess of Gloucester and had a chat about Music in Hospitals & Care and her patronage. We saw the King as he walked around and enjoyed the sandwiches and ice cream.”

In August we held our first ever Family Fun Day at Pontypridd Rugby Club. The event raised £1,314 and Welsh families had a great day with stalls, food, fairground rides and, of course, live music! Long-standing Music in Hospitals & Care duo Huw and Mel were there
to provide the tunes.

Facebook followers and new supporters were challenged to walk, jog or run 75 miles in September to celebrate our 75th anniversary. We had 363 members in the challenge Facebook group, which had a great community feel with participants sharing their efforts and cheering each other on. 103 group members set up a fundraising page to receive donations, raising £2,958.48.

Following this success, we invited running clubs and individuals to do a festive fun run in Santa hats that were sent out to them. In February our third Facebook challenge to achieve 200,000 steps during the month was a great way to make
an active start to the year.

Supporters, volunteers, staff and musicians got together at Murrayfield Parish in Edinburgh for our Winter Warmer event in November. Music in Hospitals & Care musicians Daniela and Matthew were joined by supporters Hector on the bagpipes and Emma on the flute. It was a fantastic evening to celebrate 75 years of Music in Hospitals & Care’s wonderful community. £1,542.79 was raised from ticket
sales and a bucket collection.

It was another holly jolly Christmas with our regular singing spots in England, Scotland and Wales taking place. Companies House choir sang for us at St David’s Shopping Centre in Cardiff, while in Edinburgh Pitchcraft choir and The Song Space were jingle bell rocking at John Lewis and Dynamic Earth. Our musician Laura Stephenson once again led the chorus under the tree at Trafalgar Square. Our festive fundraising choirs raised a total of £401.25.

In March we were selected by Big Give for their match funding campaign. Donations up to £5,000 made during the appeal week were matched by Big Give to double the difference the campaign could make. Our Vice President Katie Derham, who has been involved with the charity for many years and voiced our Radio 4 appeal in 2015, endorsed our Big Give campaign. Powerful quotes and images were used to support the appeal for donations, which raised a fantastic total of £14,759 towards our work in serious illness.

We had lots of fantastic fundraising this year from the Music in Hospitals & Care community, including crafty creations, glorious gardens and everything in between.

Anne Fraser from East Lothian showcased her designs made from recycled materials in June and raised an impressive £1,061.43.

The 14th annual Didsbury Guitar Trail in July raised £380 and saw dozens of performers take up pitches around Fletcher Moss Gardens to provide a musical landscape.

Our wonderful volunteers Robin and Anne Barr opened their beautiful garden on Orkney over the summer as part of the Scottish Gardens Scheme. They had over 100 visitors and raised £331.50, with further openings raising another £425!

Companies House choir entertained shoppers in Cardiff at Christmas with their fabulous harmonies and raised £95.

The NHS Health Economics Unit rock band, The HEUristics, staged their debut gig in March at Hoxton Underbelly, raising £550.

Scottish Fiddle Orchestra raised £325 from the audience at their concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in September with our fundraiser Sue, volunteer Gillian and Chair Maureen on bucket duty!

“We had such an amazing time on Sunday. The entire experience from start to finish was unforgettable. To run for such a great charity was a real honour, and to have raised more than I could have imagined is the cherry on top! Thank you for the opportunity – we absolutely loved it.”

Callum, London Marathon runner