Werneth Concert Band

WCB Charities and Community

Read about how Werneth Concert Band participate with the local community.

Stockport Friends of Portage / Bobby Moore Fund / Stockport Women's Centre

Werneth Concert Band presented cheques for a total of £1,500 to its chosen charities for 2011. The band performed carols in shopping centres and Supermarkets throughout December to raise the cash for Stockport Friends of Portage, the Bobby Moore Fund and Stockport Women’s Centre. The presentation took place at the band’s rehearsal room at Werneth High School.

Chair Shelagh Humphries, Lizzy Jones (Bobby Moore Fund), Joanne Hibbert (Stockport Friends of Portage), Vicky Hanson (supporter), Barbara Swann (Stockport Women’s Centre) & MD Allan Jones

Childrens Adventure Farm Trust

Werneth Concert Band was pleased to donate £550 to the Children's Adventure Farm Trust in February 2011. CAFT provides holidays and activities for terminally ill, chronically sick, disabled and disadvantaged children from all over the Northwest. Based around a beautiful 17th century farmhouse, in the heart of Cheshire countryside, the Charity offers free adventure breaks and activities to children who are disadvantaged by illness, disability and poverty.

Julie Gray of CAFT receives the cheque from WCB

Macular Disease Society

The Macular Disease Society is a specialist charity for people affected by any form of macular disease or macular degeneration. WCB's charity fundraising at Christmas 2011 allowed us to donate £550 to the society. All our charity donations are based on recommendations from band members - Sheila Fleming (clarinet) suggested the Macular Disease Society.

Tom Perks from the Macular Disease Society receives WCB's donation from Sheila Fleming

The Christie Cancer Centre

Werneth Concert Band was proud to present a cheque for £500 to The Christie at a band rehearsal in February, 2010. The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 40,000 patients a year and some of our band members and supporters have been grateful beneficiaries. The Christie charity raises money to fund projects at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, which are outside the scope of the NHS. Based in Manchester it serves a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% of patients are referred from other parts of the country. It provides radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. The Christie is also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. They run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on The Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.

Beechwood Cancer Care Centre

For the last many, many years an ensemble from Werneth Concert Band has provided the music for Beechwood each Christmas at its poignant “Tree of Lights” Dedication Service. Beechwood is a day centre which opened in 1990 to help anyone whose life has been affected by the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Within its welcoming surroundings Beechwood offers a range of free support, including 1 to 1 talk time, complementary therapies and group sessions to help patients, family members and carers cope with all the problems they may have to face.

Deafax

Roger Pearce, assistant M.D. and brilliant pianist (he also plays euphonium!) is the link to Deafax. In January 2010 WCB were delighted to donate £500 to them. Deafax has been at the forefront of technology since its inception in 1985. It exists to empower deaf people by offering them access to new and innovative technologies. Through this, they have seen literacy skills and self-confidence improve and feelings of isolation and inadequacy reduce. Deafax specialises in creating, developing and delivering visual, deaf-friendly resources.

St Ann's Hospice

St Ann's Hospice is yet another organization which touches the lives of so many in the band and £500 was donated to them in 2009.
Founded nearly forty years ago, St Ann’s Hospice has grown to become the largest hospice in Greater Manchester and a key part of the North West community.
A recognised centre of excellence for specialist palliative care for people over the age of eighteen, St Ann’s Hospice helps those people who have progressive and life-threatening illnesses – as well as supporting their carers and families. Our Musical Director was the champion of St. Anne's Hospice because of his link with his friend and colleague, Geri Smith, who received such marvellous help from the hospice.

The Belarus Fund

The following is an extract from the newsletter of this charity:- “It gave us great pleasure to hand over the £500 raised by Werneth Concert Band for the Palette Therapy Group. This is a group of people with mental health problems who really value the opportunities they have through the workshops at the Pervomaiski Social Services Centre. The photo was taken during a visit to an art therapy session early in 2009.”
The Belarus Fund is a small charity set up by three friends, Alan and Janet Bridgewater and Carol Hartley, working alongside a Belarusian charity called White Flower which was set up by a wonderful Christian man called Nicolai Balbutski. The Belarus Fund has no overheads and so all the funding goes directly to people who are in great need. Everyone who works for the charity is a volunteer and pays their own expenses - a very committed group of people.

WCB Chairman Nick Bradley with (left) Janet Bridgewater of The Belarus Fund
and Nan Ironside of St. Ann’s Hospice

Macmillan Cancer Support

Many of the band’s family and friends have been the beneficiaries of this marvelous organization and £500 was donated to them from the proceeds of our Xmas fund raising in 2008.
"Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. We provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. Cancer affects us all. We can all help. We are Macmillan."

Children’s Liver Disease Foundation

The CLDF were presented with a cheque for £500 from WCB in 2008. John Glynn, past chairman and 8th euphonium, has a grandson, Robert Clarke, whose family have received real and practical help from this charity. Robert was born with biliary atresia and will need a liver transplant eventually. Justine, Robert’s mum, used to play with WCB on French horn.
Children’s Liver Disease Foundation is a national charity fighting liver disease through funding pioneering research, educating healthcare professionals and the public, and providing emotional support for young people and affected families. It is the only organisation of its kind in the UK.

National Library for the Blind

Christmas is a time for giving and Christmas 2006 saw Werneth Concert Band, one of the top community bands in the country encourage Greater Manchester locals to give £600 in aid of local charity the National Library for the Blind.

Local Tesco customers were treated to their favourite carols as they did their Christmas shopping. Patrons of The Stock Dove pub in Romiley were delighted to be serenaded with much-loved festive songs and hymns as they relaxed with their hot toddies.

John Glynn, Chairman of the Werneth Concert Band presented the cheque on Valentines Day to Christine Redmond, NLB Area Fundraising Manager. Christine said, "I couldn’t think of a better day to be presented with such a wonderful gift for the library. I’d like to thank the Werneth Concert Band for all their hard work during the Christmas period."

Mr Glynn commented: "The band are delighted to support the NLB as we personally know people who use the service and know what a fantastic difference it makes in their life."

The National Library for the Blind is a registered charity based in Stockport and provides a wealth of materials that are specifically designed for blind people. The archive is made up of suitable materials designed for the visually impaired crossing a wide variety of topics. Formats include tactile/braille and talking books, and the collection is one of the finest anywhere in the world.

Cor Preludi

Our friends from Catalunya, Cor Preludi, toured the North of England in December 2006.

05.12.06	Cor Preludi arrived.
06.12.06	Civic reception with the Mayor of Stockport.
07.12.06	Visited Chatsworth House, Derbyshire with a concert (eventually!) in the house. Returned to Stockport for a joint concert at St Mary's, Stockport with Manchester Girls’ Choir .
08.12.06	Trip to Wales to visiting Conwy and Llandudno before a joint concert with our friends, Cor Meibion Colwyn at St John's Church, Colwyn Bay. More singing and socialising in The Plough, Old Colwyn after the concert!
09.12.06	Visited Lyme Park in the early afternoon for some Christmas festivities and a concert in the chapel. Later in the evening they joined us for our Christmas Concert at Romiley Forum. There was a fantastic post concert buffet and thanks to all those who contributed food.
10.12.06	Visited Liverpool, the Albert Docks, the Beatles Experience and strolled along the Liverpool waterfront and see the Liver Birds and Three Graces. Afternoon flight back to Girona.

Lisburne School

Werneth Concert Band support the local community in a number of different ways. Last Christmas we raised money for the Lisburne School through carol playing in and around Stockport. Lisburne School caters for 50 children aged 4 -11 with a variety of learning difficulties. The catchment area covers the whole of Stockport. The school has an increasing number of children with physical and motor difficulties who have problems playing hand-held percussion instruments. The donation from the band was used to purchase instruments mounted on stands.

Duke of Norfolk School

We have also enjoyed the company of the Duke of Norfolk School, Glossop who joined us for a rehearsal on 18 July 2006. During the first half of the rehearsal the children listened to WCB rehearse a new contemporary peice of music called Convergence. During the second half they sat in with our players to rehearse some music they had been learning this year - even teaching us a few techniques!

The Wellspring

In 2005 The Wellspring Charity received a cheque for £500 from WCB with which Shelagh Humphreys, a clarinettist, has contact. The band actually played at St. Joseph’s RC Church as people at Wellspring were enjoying their Christmas dinner!!
Since its modest beginning in 1990, The Wellspring has been serving homeless and disadvantaged men and women in Stockport, 365 days a year.
As of 2010 The Wellspring had over 2500 members. It has evolved from a basic soup kitchen to a place where many services are available - from housing to health issues, educational courses, art groups, health walks and much more.

The Mayor / Mayoress of Stockport

Werneth Concert Band is always proud to actively support the Mayor’s or Mayoress’s charities and have played many concerts. St. George’s Church has been the venue since April 2005 and that concert was in aid of Victim Support, Witness Service and Medicare for Kids.

NW Kidney Association

Catherine Burgess, flautist, proposed that the NW Kidney Association should be one of our chosen charities in 2004. Her link was with Geoff Burgess, her father-in-law. However Geoff was linked to the band having been to most of our concerts and on tours abroad. In Spain Geoff went to hospital in Figueres to spend time on the dialysis machine!! Geoff is also chairman of the NW Kidney Association.
“It takes a kidney patient to understand what it is like to be a kidney patient.” The North West Region Kidney Patients’ Association is a registered charity run by kidney patients on a purely voluntary basis. All funds raised are for the benefit of kidney patients and their families. Their aim is to promote the welfare of kidney patients and to provide support and information for them and their families.
The association was founded in June 1983 and now has over six hundred members. They represent the interests of patients from many hospitals throughout the north west of England and include relatives, friends and hospital staff among their membership.

Cerebal Palsy Society of Stockport

In December 2004 Paul from the Cerebral Palsy Society of Stockport received a cheque for £500 from Gordon Robson (alto sax) on behalf of Werneth Concert Band. Gordon was a volunteer for the CPS as was Ruth Wadman (trumpet). The money will go specifically to help members of the CPS to make music in their specially constructed suite. At the beginning of January, 2005, Gordon was presented with a certificate as volunteer of the month to recognise his dedication to the Society.
Stockport CP supports children and adults who have physical and/or learning disabilities and provide services to residents of Stockport, Manchester, Trafford, Tameside and Cheshire.