40 Years of... Fun-draising

We’ve seen our fair share of fundraisers over the years. Some have been wacky, some out of the box, and others just plain silly! But whatever it is, we’ve always made sure it’s been FUN.      

Gnomes   

If you’ve been a friend and follower of AAM for some time, you’ll be familiar with the Gnomes. Creative Director Rose is to blame for these little critters, but we must admit they’ve proved to be a lot of fun! It all began with Gnomestock, where Rose and Pam handmade a crowd of gnomes that would stay with us for some time.    

Over the years, gnomes were often handed out as prizes to AAM friends, family and team members. In 2021, they were the theme for our Dragon Boat Race Challenge team.   

Who could forget the fabulous costumes made by our talented seamstress and former Trustee Sue Morris? The gnomes have since found their way into retirement, so we’re not sure when we’ll see them again. One thing’s for sure – they left a lasting impression!  

Fundraising Committee 

Trustee Sue Morris is not just a whizz on the sewing machine, she is a woman of many talents. One of which is fundraising. Keen to raise money for AAM, Sue set up the Hands and Voices Fundraising Committee and built a team of super fundraisers!   

Later, the group expanded their fundraising efforts to help AAM as a whole and went on to organise some fantastic fundraising events.    

Some of our favourites were a fabulous pie and peas social featuring some special guest performers, the bag-packing and busking events at local supermarkets and the flower-arranging demos they pulled together. Not to mention their awesome tombolas and raffles at AAM events. 

Their annual table-top events at St. Crux went down a storm, bringing in totals just shy of £1,000 at a time! We totted it up and the committee raised an AAM-azing £27,000 over the years! That’s what we call teamwork!   

York Rotary Dragon Boat Race Challenge    

For the last 20 years, York Rotary has organised one of the biggest fundraising events in the city's calendar. Every year, they recruit 36 teams to take to the water, all in the name of raising money and having fun. 

In 2021, we donned our Gnome outfits and headed out on the river Ouse for the first time. Our costumes created a stir and we even won one of our races, but we didn’t come home with a trophy. Although we did find ourselves invited back as one of the two beneficiary charities for the following year. 

This meant that a third of the money raised by every team would be split between AAM and another local charity, Antibiotic Research UK.   

We were over the moon and chose the name Seas the Day. Come race day, staff, volunteers, participants and their family members donned our fishy headpieces and were ready to row. We came in last and won the Tail End Oar, but we were proud to be one of the most inclusive teams on the water. The team smashed their fundraising target and raised £1945! How fab is that?  

What’s more, as nominated charities, AAM and Antibiotic Research UK both received a whopping £13,600 from York Rotary. This was only made possible by the AAM-azing efforts of all 36 teams. 

A huge thank you to all the teams that took part - you’re our fundraising heroes! And thank you to York Rotary President Mary Lumley, Brian Joscelyneand the York Rotary Club for hosting a fabulous event.  

The 2.6 Challenge     

In 2020, it was all hands-on for the 2.6 Challenge.  The organisers of the London Marathon set up the event in response to lockdowns that had impacted charities’ income. And we were keen to get involved in the fun. 

There were some fabulously wacky challenges set. Some of our favourites were the most ambitious. We had someone making 26 accessible instruments in 26 minutes and another wearing 26 different outfits in 26 minutes!   

Keen to help, folks from Hands and Voices joined in the fun by setting themselves some brilliant challenges. Dan spotted 26 types of vehicles from his window whilst Elizabeth rode a mile a day on her bike for 26 days. Claire joined in and wheeled her way to 26 miles in 10 days whilst singing ‘I would walk 500 miles’!   

Christmas Buskathons   

Our epic Christmas Buskathons have become a thing of legend since they started in 2002 – a whopping 20 years!   

They began after talks with our Hands and Voices Committee; a committee set up so the choir members could have more of a say in the running of their project. They wanted to help raise money that could go back into Hands and Voices and other AAM projects.   

As a person-centred charity, it’s part of our DNA to ensure that people’s voices are heard, no matter what their ability. The Buskathons continue to this day. Come and find us atCoppergate on Saturday 17th December at 12-2 pm where we’ll be singing and signing our festive favourites.        

A Night to Remember 

We can’t talk about fundraising without mentioning the legendary Big Ian. Folks who know Ian Donaghy will know that he’s the man behind A Night to Remember - a charity fundraising night that’s been going on for years. Every year, Ian curates a line-up of York's finest acts to raise money and awareness for charities around the city. And every year, he smashes it!  

Hands & Voices have performed twice at this legendary event, once in 2017 and again in 2019. Each time, they sang the house down and got a well-deserved standing ovation. 

Since 2018, Accessible Arts & Media has been one of the beneficiaries of this wonderful event. We’ve totted up the numbers and Big Ian’s A Night to Remember has raised a whopping £16,435 for AAM alone! What a fundraising hero!  

We’ve had donations come in all shapes and sizes; each one is as important as the last. We wish we could list all the fabulous fundraisers who’ve given their time, talent and know-how over the years, but the list would be huge. So, for now, we’ll say a massive AAM 'Thank You'.         

Honourable mentions: 

Libbie for her daredevil Wing Walk, Pet Sick - who donated the proceeds from a 2019 gig, singer-songwriter Tom Oliver for his virtual lockdown gig in aid of AAM, Mulholland for their fantastic gigs where Hands and Voices performed alongside them and other acts, Tom (amongst others) who’ve braved the Three Peaks over the years.   

It's support like this that has kept the Fun in fun-draising these last 40 years. You can lay the foundations for another 40 years by supporting our 40th anniversary fundraising campaign. 

Head to our Donate page and donate today.