Make double the difference when you support our Big Give Christmas appeal

Can you imagine a life without music?

You never hear the opening bars of your favourite song again. You can’t feel the vibrations of the instruments around you. And perhaps most importantly, you can’t share that moment with the people you love.

“I met Sarah on New Year’s Day 1985 on a crowded bus and we’ve been inseparable ever since. We’ll have been married  40 years next year. The longest we’ve spent apart is while Sarah has been ill.”

Five years ago, Sarah had a sudden and severe stroke that has affected her short-term memory and left her paralysed in both legs and her left arm. Now Gordon regularly visits her at the Marillac Neurological Care Centre in Essex, where they share a different kind of musical connection through Music in Hospitals & Care’s tailored live music experiences.

“I haven’t experienced live music for years outside of the Marillac Centre. I can see it means a lot to Sarah, she’s more mellow and a lot less frustrated with the fact she can’t do what she wants to do. She is more relaxed when there’s music playing and definitely calmer afterwards. Music in Hospitals & Care just hits the right notes, as they say,” says Gordon.

Sarah agrees: “I like it when I can recognise songs, which I did today. At Christmas we have a guitar player who knows hip hop. He’s very good, I like him.”

This festive season, you can help bring joy, hope and connection to people like Sarah and Gordon.

From midday on 2 December to 9 December, every donation we receive up to £30,000 will be match funded through the Big Give Christmas challenge. This means donations will be doubled, making twice the impact this Christmas.

Please visit our campaign page between 2 and 9 December to double your impact and give the gift of live music to those who need it most this Christmas.