Runway Idol Final

We are very happy to have sponsored Sheffield's biggest fashion show, Runway Idol. The show had its finale in July, after 5 years of fundraising and raising over £20,000 for various charities since it started in 2018 - and in its finale year supported Retina UK, a charity very close to the organisers heart.

Not only was it an incredible fashion show, but we also saw some live music and dance performances. Our sponsorship was used to help support the performances of local artists at the event, showcasing their talent, giving people opportunities to perform, empower and improve their confidence. The event featured performances from;

Rebecca’s Dance Studios

Ryan Young

Connie Emery

The Voice Academy

Anya Goel

Sheffield Performing Arts Ballet Dancers

The finale went out with a bang raising over £10,000 for the chosen charity. It was a fabulous evening, and we are absolutely delighted to have been a part of it.

Supporting the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) through the power of music

The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) is the largest representative body for Ukrainians and those of Ukrainian descent in the UK. It exists to develop, promote and support the interests of the Ukrainian community in the UK.The Sheffield Branch of the AUGB aims to provide a practical support and solutions for the Ukrainian refugees.

Opened in April in response to the war crisis, the Branch provides multiple services emerging on variable needs, joined under the “Ukrainian Club”.

The Saturday Social is organised each Saturday, 11.00- 13.00 currently at St. Mary’s Church (Bramall Ln, Highfield, Sheffield S2 4QZ). The Saturday Social gives a chance for the refugees to meet the local Ukrainians and other arrivals, to exchange experiences on different administrative processes, and to attend some workshops for children and adults. Since the Ukrainian Club first opened in April, the number of visitors of the Saturday Social has grown from 20 to more than 100 people.
From Saturday October 1st 2022 AUGB Sheffield organised a children choir that was training to perform the traditional Ukrainian Christmas carols during the winter holidays. The children sang on the Moor Market, for different organisations, and also during the celebration at the club. The grant money that we are providing went towards buying some musical equipment to allow the children to practice and perform. We were incredibly happy to support this.
One of the organisers wrote

“We  are very proud of our little Ukrainian singers, trained by Luda Anatoliivna, who for the first time performed at the Sheffield Christmas Market to raise donations for the Ukrainian children with cancer. All the funds will be transferred to the charitable fund Фонд допомоги онкохворим дітям "Краб" in Ukraine in the end of the fundraising campaign.

We are grateful to the The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation and Julie Voisey for providing a grant to buy the equipment and accessories.”

Are you looking to support Ukrainian groups in Sheffield through the power of music? We are actively looking to support you!

Power of music grants up to £500 are available now to spread happiness through your community via music. Visit our grants page to find out more.

Supporting Sheffield Schools through the Power of Music

Mossbrook Special Primary Needs School

Mossbrook Special Primary Needs school in Norton provides specialist education for 134 children aged between 4 and 11 years old. Much time is devoted to ensuring that barriers to learning are reduced for pupils as far as possible, focusing on sensory processing activities. Music is a big part of life at Mossbrook School, with all children having music lessons each week. The school was awarded a grant to buy a new keyboard for the school. 

 "Music is an integral part of our children's experience and learning. Many children recall language from songs, and we use music to support transition throughout school, for example, lunchtime songs, singing the timetable/register and home time songs. This allows the children to understand what is happening now and next as the songs used are repeated throughout the week. 

 To keep children across the school safe, during 2020, we began to have music lessons within classrooms and the shared music space. Our old, large keyboard with broken wheels was tough to move around the school, and so we requested a grant to pay for a portable keyboard to support our music lessons and whole school performances.”

Lowfield Primary School

Lowfield Primary School is a school in the heart of the Sheffield community that celebrates its bright and diverse team of staff and pupils.

The school was awarded a grant to provide music lessons in order to give the most vulnerable children at the school the opportunity to learn to play an instrument. The aim of the music lessons are to increase the wellbeing of the children at the school, go above and beyond the national curriculum level of music and improve communication skills.

St John Fisher PTFA

St John Fisher is a small Catholic School in Sheffield, The PTFA helps with fundraising to help the school provide extra resources for the pupils. They run social events for parents/carers and children, providing an opportunity for people to meet and get to know each other and have fun. They also provide support for school trips and outings and other special events.

As many of the children at the school are not able to access opportunities to learn a musical instrument we supported them through a grant to provide musical instruments for the school. The school has begun singing lessons after school, and it’s been exciting  to introduce a range of musical instruments to support these lessons.  

Sheffield Music School 

Sheffield Music School is a charity that runs on a Saturday morning and in school holidays. They have a number of classes that cater for various genres including jazz, classical, pop, rock and rap. They are dedicated to providing free provisions for those who have a passion for music and would otherwise be unable to attend. 

We recently awarded a second grant to the music school to continue to build confidence and help a group of female students use their ideas and talents to form bands and write songs as a team. The students were committed and talented and needed financial support to continue to work on their technical knowledge and grow as musicians. 

 “Being able to work with our young women to help excel their musical talents is so exciting. From watching their singing lessons with Gina Walters to working on production and creating beats, the classes are so creative and important. Without funds like this, many young people are left behind in an expensive and elitist industry which requires huge amounts of money to access one to one training. Our mentors and mentees are telling honest stories through their music and we are so excited for what the future brings.”

Norfolk Community Primary School

Norfolk  Community Primary School is a busy and friendly school, working hard to provide the very best for all. Their school motto is "Working together to be the best we can be." Their aim is to provide all children with a good level of education. To nurture children’s wellbeing and aim to meet all of their needs to ensure they are ready for classroom learning.

The primary school has been developing a sensory space for their Key Stage 2 students, whereby they wanted to improve the space by purchasing speakers and musical instruments for music therapy sessions. We supported the school with a grant to help them achieve their aim of a fun and engaging sensory space. 

Hallam Primary School PTFA

Hallam Primary School is a large, inclusive and welcoming school providing education from 4 to 11 for over 600 pupils. The objective of the PTFA is to raise funds to support the school. They also support the school where we can with their fundraising and other activities. 

The grant enabled the PTFA to give two students at the school the chance to learn guitar for the whole year. This is part of the Pupil Premium which is additional to main school funding and is used by this school to address any underlying inequalities between children eligible by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most. The grant will further address these inequalities and give two students the opportunity to develop their music skills. 

“This past term I have given the boys guitar lessons and have been very pleased with their progress and enthusiasm within their lessons! The discovery of playing music on an instrument has had a positive impact on the boys and has been a pleasure to watch from my perspective. One of them even performed in the summer concert series this year and the both wish to perform next year as well. Getting to know the children and start them on their musical and creative journey has been an absolute privilege of mine” - Teacher

“We have loved learning songs on guitar, especially ‘The eye of the tiger’, performing at the summer concert was amazing and we are so glad that we are going to be able to keep learning the guitar next year.” - Students

If you are a school or organisation in Sheffield looking for support to run musical activities in Sheffield, find out more or get in touch today.

Darnall Dementia group singing sessions

We are proud to announce our latest grant to a local Day Care Group, Darnall Dementia

Darnall Dementia group provides day care for people with dementia.

 The grant will go towards providing singing sessions once a month, when an external provider comes to the Day Centre. The sessions are very popular with their clients and provide respite for their carer’s. The songs are tailored to the preferences of the clients (it's a broad spectrum from traditional songs to nursery rhyme type songs right through to The Clash!!). The songs often get some clients up singing and dancing, while others like to just sit and listen - so they are very important for their physical & mental wellbeing as well as triggering memories from a time before they had dementia. One of their clients commented that “she loves it at the Day Centre & that it is a place where you learn to be happy”. A carer commented that “she now has time when she doesn’t have to worry about her mum & isn’t constantly on edge”. The local authority during Darnalls annual review in April commented that “”the Day Centre atmosphere felt like a family get together”. If you would like to find out more please visit: www.darnalldementiagroup.co.uk

The Joy of Making Music Together with The Body of Sound Choir

Body of Sound is an amazing non-profit women's choir. It’s been active in Sheffield since 1997. They make beautiful music and use it as a tool to raise awareness and support significant causes that have an impact on many people's lives.

We are proud to give this choir a grant in support of their mission to inspire change and promote inclusivity. The choir has also shown their support for the Scholarship Fund for Palestinian Women, proving that they're not just about making great music but making a positive impact in the world too. 

Our Grant will offer a window for women who want to join but are unable to pay due to being unable to work, perhaps a disability, being in the process of applying for asylum, or having refugee status. This grant will provide a bursary membership opportunity, assisting in expanding the opportunities available to women who love to sing and be a part of the musical community.

As The Body and Sound Team shared with us, 

"As a choir, we at Body of Sound are aware of how powerful music can be in healing the mind,. body and soul. We come together to sing and celebrate connection; to our city and to each other. The music that we sing reflects our values and connects us with people all across the city from various cultures and communities. We believe that the power of music and the connection that it creates should be accessible to all, regardless of their financial status. The grant from Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation will allow us to support members who may not otherwise be able to afford our annual residential weekend away. This annual weekend has been described by members as the highlight of the year. A restful break away to relax, spend time together and of course, sing in a beautiful setting. Thank you to Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation for helping us keep the power and connection of music alive”  

If you are interested in joining the choir or seeing Body of Sound perform, check out their website here.

If you're able to see them perform live in Sheffield it is a fantastic opportunity to not only hear some excellent music and donate to a worthwhile cause, but also to witness the transformative power of music in forging bonds of community.

Tramlines T-Shirt Competition & Grant Update

The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation has some exciting developments they want to let the people of Sheffield know about...

Firstly - do you want to win Tramlines Festival tickets for the whole three days? Of course you do! The foundation has two tickets up for grabs as part of their 2023 Tramlines Charity T-Shirt design competition. Budding artists are being invited to create a one off new design which will go on sale at Tramlines alongside their existing merchandise. You’ve all seen the Be More Nulty heart logo designed by local artist Tom J Newell, right? Imagine seeing your design up there alongside it!

You have complete creative freedom, the only stipulation is to include either "Be More Nulty" or "The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation" in your design. The charity encourages entries from everyone so don’t be put off if you’re not quite Tate Gallery ready! All profits from sales will go towards the foundation, raising money to support people in Sheffield through the power of music. So get creative, help out a local charity, and win!

For more information and to enter, visit: tinyurl.com/TShirtDesignComp

Deadline 15th June 2023.

The charity is also proud to announce that they can now offer grants of up to £2000. If you don’t already know, The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation provides funding to support individuals and organisations in Sheffield, who through music, make a positive difference to the lives of local people. Until now, grants have been limited to £500, so the new, larger grants are a significant step forward in the level of funding that the charity is able to provide.

Chair of Trustees, Julie Voisey, says “By being able to provide larger grants, we hope that individuals or organisations with a vision they feel might be a bit too financially draining or out of reach, can now access that chunk of funding they need in order to realise their idea or project. We really hope that by offering this extra level of funding, more local people can be reached, and helped, by the transformative power of music”.

Sheffield Music School has already been a recipient of one of the new grants. The funding has been used to start a new project via its Tracks programme, “A Place Called Home”. The project runs weekly and invites Ukrainian refugees aged 12-16 to take part in music classes, workshops and lessons. The great feedback so far -  “Dima was so impressed and excited! It’s amazing! Thank you so much for this opportunity!” - is testament to what can be achieved by having access to a larger funding pot.

The larger grants are limited and are offered on a quarterly basis. The first round is open now until 30th June 2023. The smaller £500 grants continue to be available on a year round rolling basis. You can check your eligibility for a grant by visiting The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation website at www.thesarahnultypowerofmusicfoundation.co.uk .