Kate’s musical marathon fundraising

On Sunday 27 April, team Music in Hospitals & Care will once again take part in the London Marathon, running 26.2 miles and raising money to help share the healing power of live music. One of our incredible fundraisers Kate Turner, based in Solihull in the West Midlands, shares why she chose to run for us and what music means to her.

“I think running is just a great way to kind of get away from things and do something for yourself and your own mental health. Around two or three years ago, I began running the occasional half marathon and I thought – I’m in my 40s, if I don’t run a marathon now I never will, and I’ve seen this amazing charity I’d like to raise money for. I was so pleased that I was chosen by Music in Hospitals & Care. To be given one of their places was a real privilege.

I run a Yamaha music school in Solihull, and I thought I could really raise some money through my work. I reached out to Yamaha and they were really supportive, providing prizes for a raffle such as a keyboard and a streaming kit, and they donated £200 directly to my fundraising, which I wasn’t expecting at all. I also got in touch with different companies to get prizes for spa days and a golf experience. The raffle raised around £700 so that was my main fundraising and since then it’s really just been the kindness of people who I’ve spoken to and have been made aware of it through my social media and the music school page, as well as just getting the message out there about the charity.

Learning a new piece of music is a lot like running – you’re constantly reaching new milestones. For me, it’s about escape. I think that’s what drew me to Music in Hospitals & Care in the first place. When you’re going through tough times, having moments where you can forget everything and simply enjoy the musicis so important.

My advice for anybody else fundraising is getting the word out there about what the charity does and why you feel it’s a worthy cause, that’s really important. I think that’s why I didn’t want to just apply to any charity – it had to be something that I believed in. I think in terms of working out how to fundraise, I would definitely get in touch with local businesses and tell them about what you’re doing. If people see how passionate you are about it, I think it makes it a really big difference.”