The Military Wives Choirs Foundation Impact Report 2014
The Military Wives Choirs 2014 75 CHOIRS 2,450 choir members May 2012 May 2013 May 2014 14 46 75 choirs choirs choirs 1
The Military Wives Choirs Foundation Foreword The Military Wives Choirs now fill a unique place in our military communities. Located wherever our servicemen and women and their families are based, they provide a regular opportunity for women to come together to sing. In doing so, a powerful bond of mutual support and friendship is created. Our choirs have achieved a great deal in a short space of time. None of it would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of so many people. We are hugely indebted to everyone who has helped and supported us and particularly to the commanders and welfare teams who have backed their local choirs. This report tells you a little more about the Military Wives Choirs Foundation and what our choirs have been doing during the past year. It tells you how they have supported the communities in which they live and how they have helped other charities. Crucially, it also tells you about the difference our choirs are making to the lives of the women who sing in them. Nicky Clarke MBE, Chair Military Wives Choirs Foundation Impact Report 2014 2
The Military Wives Choirs Foundation The Military Wives Choirs Foundation was established as a charity in 2012. Our simple ambition is to bring women in the military community closer together through singing Our inspiration came from the very first choirs, set up in 2010 and 2011. Through them, we were able to experience and witness the positive difference that choirs made during some difficult times. At the same time, we recognised the unique challenges faced by women in those communities, linked to frequent family moves and the impact of operational deployments. Our choirs are empowering women to make a difference. By creating a ready-made source of friendship, often when family and friends are far away, they are breaking down barriers and fostering a crucial network of support. As well as wives, partners and servicewomen, we have welcomed veterans wives and others who are integral to their local military communities, such as teachers in military schools. From our beginnings in early 2012, the Military Wives Choirs Foundation has developed into 75 choirs on or near to British military bases in the UK and overseas, including Germany, Cyprus and Brunei. Each choir has its own identity, but all are optimistic and spirited places to be. They celebrate what is best about our military communities but also play a vital role when times are tough. 3 www.militarywiveschoirs.org
The Military Wives Choirs Carly joined Sandhurst Military Wives Choir whilst her husband was serving in Afghanistan. I joined the Military Wives Choir whilst my then boyfriend, now husband, was on a 9 month tour of Afghanistan. Because he is an Army reservist, I had no friends or family with military partners. I felt very isolated and alone by the experience. I can still remember my first choir practice and what a relief it was to talk to women who totally understood what I was going through. For months, I had felt like I constantly had to explain myself and my situation, and nobody quite got it. Well, no explanation was needed now - I instantly felt at home, understood and supported. It is fantastic that something so positive has come out of my husband s tour, one of the worst experiences of my life. I instantly felt at home, understood and supported Nicky has been in the Chivenor Military Wives Choir since it was established in 2011. There have been so many positives. The choir is a release from day-to-day stresses - a place to be together with ladies who have so much in common and enjoy the love of singing. I look forward to rehearsal and I miss it if I can t make it. Being part of the choir means that we have no idea who our husbands serve with - it really plays no part in the choir s make-up. We have one thing in common, we are military wives. Louise moved with her husband to RAF Wattisham after they got married. The first few months living here were filled with struggles and not being close to my family and friends was difficult. Joining the choir is one of the best things I have done. As well as providing me with a sense of community within military life, it has introduced me to a wonderful and varied group of women who understand the challenges that come with being a military wife. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of something which makes such a positive difference to people s lives. Impact Report 2014 4
The Military Wives Choirs Foundation The Military Wives Choirs Foundation is led by volunteers at all levels, from our board of trustees to the committees who work so hard to run each choir. Our small central team, consisting of one full-time and two part-time members of staff, provides guidance and ongoing support for the day-to-day running of the choirs. Gareth Malone is our Patron. The Foundation s key objective in 2013 was to build and support a sustainable network of choirs in the military community. To do so, we focused on three things. Firstly, we have continued to develop our infrastructure; that work is ongoing. Secondly, we have helped new choirs to get started, often by assisting women who have no previous experience of doing something like this. Thirdly, we have continued to support those choirs already established. In addition to providing specialist advice and practical resources, including start-up funding for new choirs, the Foundation has afforded opportunities to bring choirs and choir members together. Our Regional Link Teams were launched in 2013 to facilitate mutual support at choir level as well as offering guidance on specific issues including governance, fundraising and safeguarding. We also held joint training events, including two highly successful Musical Directors Workshops at the Royal Military College of Music, led by our Patron. Our Music Panel provides new pieces of music to choirs, as well as technical advice on issues such as copyright and performance guidelines. 5 www.militarywiveschoirs.org
Th role of the Foundation Having been a member of the Aldershot Military Wives Choir, Dawn set up a new choir in Winchester. For me, starting up a choir meant passing on the positive aspects of singing, being with friends and enjoying each other s company. When we started, most of the girls had not sung in a choir or even looked at a piece of music. As a Choir Lead, to watch them learn to sing together and enjoy each week more and more has been inspirational and very moving. From my perspective, it is the most amazing achievement that I have been a part of. Lieutenant Gary Turner was posted to MOD Abbeywood in September 2013. I am now the Musical Director for the Bristol Military Wives Choir. Having only started in January 2014, they sound amazing! But more importantly, the choir now offers emotional support and friendship to the military wives, mums and partners of serving and retired personnel in the Bristol area. Until recently, they have been the unsung heroes of conflict. Thanks to the Military Wives Choirs Foundation, they now have a voice and quite rightly stand side by side with our servicemen and women. Impact Report 2014 6
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Some of the strongest and bravest women I know still need someone to just stand by them every now and then. Sam, Aldershot Military Wives Choir Clockwise from top left: Yeovilton MWC, Gareth Malone, Defence Academy MWC, Proms MWC, Halton MWC, Wyton & Bramptom MWC, Halton MWC, Ayios Nikolaos MWC 8
The Military Wives Choirs Foundation Brize Norton Military Wives Choir Over the last two years, our choirs have taken their place in the military communities in which they live. In successfully bringing together women from all parts of those communities, they have broken down barriers of Service, cap-badge and rank. Group Captain Steve Lushington is the Station Commander at RAF Brize Norton. What started as a spark of an idea amongst a small group of wives has grown into a thriving, vibrant choir which has achieved many great things. They have never looked back and seeing them perform at many Station and local events, I am constantly impressed by their polished performances. Ensuring the welfare of personnel and dependants on the Station is one of my key priorities. So I have noticed the exceptional welfare role that the choir is playing. The members of the choir have become good friends and provide great support for one another. To know that the wives and servicewomen at RAF Brize Norton are able to come together to sing, support one another and have fun is wonderful. Long may it continue. 9 www.militarywiveschoirs.org
Strengthening the Military community Sara was one of the founding members of Gütersloh Military Wives Choir in Germany. The Gütersloh Military Wives Choir is a unique organisation because it brings together ladies from across a big garrison, with regiments and houses spread over a large area. With units deployed, and families a long way from their own loved ones and friends, the choir is able to offer support when it s needed most. The highlight of the choir s first year was an inaugural pan-germany concert in June 2013, involving five Germany-based Military Wives Choirs. Laura joined the Wyton & Brampton Military Wives Choir when it started in September 2013. The support and the togetherness of the choir is stronger than I could have imagined. My husband deployed at 5pm on a Wednesday. I wasn t sure about going to rehearsal that evening, but I am so glad I did. I think having choir gave me a huge confidence boost and a much more positive attitude towards this deployment. I didn t have time to think about everything - I just went to choir, sang, smiled and ate cake! However the MD s choice of new song that night wasn t the best... When Will I See You Again! Impact Report 2014 10
Supporting other charities SSAFA Blind Veterans UK Poppy Appeal Help for Heroes Shawbury Military Wives Choir sang at Liverpool Cathedral in December in a fundraising concert to support SSAFA s Merseyside Branch. Plymouth Military Wives Choir has been supporting Blind Veterans UK for more than two years, including the charity s Tarts for Troops initiative. Portsmouth Military Wives Choir helped the Royal British Legion to launch its Poppy Appeal in London, involving a performance at Waterloo Station. Salisbury Plain Military Wives Choir visited Tedworth House as part of its ongoing support of locally based charity, Help for Heroes. The Military Wives Choirs Foundation is a registered charity and we work hard to raise the funds needed to meet our own charitable objectives. Our choir members all pay subscriptions to cover their choir s running costs and none of them receives individual payment for what they do. At the same time, we take an enormous amount of pride in being able to support other charities, particularly those working to help our Forces and their families. 11 www.militarywiveschoirs.org
Reaching out Reac ng out Our choirs have worked hard to build friendships with the wider communities in which they live. Through performances, events and support for local causes, they are successfully developing closer links and enabling greater understanding between military and civilian communities. The York Military Wives Choir, of which Allison is a member, responded to an appeal to help raise money to enable Katrina Brown, a former military medic, to undergo an urgent stem cell transplant. This whole experience brought our local community closer together. Not only did we succeed in helping support Katrina, but we all found new friends in the process. We continue to help raise funds for local projects, our next challenge being the Yorkshire Three Peaks. Hayley set up the Northern Ireland Military Wives Choir in October 2012. The choir s official launch was held at Stormont. Due to the security levels in Northern Ireland, life can often get very lonely and feel very isolated. The best part of being in the choir is the friendship, support and understanding of each other s situations that it brings. Our most humbling performance was when we sang at a memorial service to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Lisburn Fun Run bombing when four young soldiers were killed by an under-vehicle bomb. Their families were visibly moved when we sang Stronger Together, telling us that they related to every word of the song. Impact Report 2014 12
Singing Together The fact that our choirs bring friendship and support to the women who belong to them matters more to us than anything else. Performances are just a part of what we do, but we have been lucky enough to sing everywhere from concert rooms to village halls and from schools to stadiums. There is always a huge amount of warmth & support from audiences. It s one of the reasons why performing is so rewarding. Sarah, Shawbury Military Wives Choir 13 www.militarywiveschoirs.org
The Military Wives Choirs would not be able to make a difference to people s lives without your help and assistance. So please get in touch to find out how you can support the Military Wives Choirs Foundation or to learn more about our choirs. The Military Wives Choirs Foundation Queen Elizabeth House 4 St Dunstan s Hill London EC3R 8AD 020 7463 9407 www.militarywiveschoirs.org Photo credits: Paul Crouch, Clive Hall, Tom Mouat 14
The Military Wives Choirs Foundation Registered charity number 1148302 A subsidiary charity of SSAFA