Farnham Dance has recently raised a fantastic £3,645 for hospice care charity Phyllis Tuckwell, which provides palliative and end of life care for local patients and families living with an advanced or terminal illness.
Caption: Farnham Dance’s principal, Elizabeth Carter, along with dancers from the summer showcase, present a cheque for £3,645 to Helena Burke, community fundraiser at Phyllis Tuckwell.
The dance school raised the money through its biennial summer showcase, 'Picture This! Art in Motion', featuring dancers ranging in age from just two years old up to 18. Farnham Dance have been supporting Phyllis Tuckwell for an incredible 16 years and this year’s total is the highest amount they have ever raised for the charity.
“Phyllis Tuckwell has always held a very special place in our heart and history,” said Elizabeth Carter, principal at Farnham Dance. “The school’s former principal, Fiona Barnard, chose to support Phyllis Tuckwell through our first full productions back in 2013. One of our much-loved former teachers, Julia Warman, sadly passed away from cancer in early 2015 and the show that summer was dedicated to her and raised money for Phyllis Tuckwell in her memory. Julia gave so much to Farnham Dance and brought so much joy to students and families at the school. When I took over in 2022, it was important to me to continue that longstanding fundraising tradition. It is lovely to know that through each show we are not only supporting an important local charity but also continuing something that has meant a great deal to the school and its wider community for many years.”
‘Picture This! Art in Motion’ celebrated different forms of art, with famous artworks and artists used as the inspiration and stimulus for the dances. It brought together dancers of all ages, along with their teachers, families and volunteers, and raising this fantastic amount of money for Phyllis Tuckwell made the whole experience even more meaningful for those involved.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Farnham Dance for their continued support over the years,” said Helena Burke, community fundraiser at Phyllis Tuckwell. “This fantastic amount of money will help fund the specialist medical and nursing care, therapies, counselling, social work advice and practical support that we provide for our patients and their loved ones. The NHS/Government usually only cover around 25% of our costs, so we have to raise over £30,000 every single day to provide our care, and the support of our amazing local community is so important in helping us to do this.”
Farnham Dance is welcoming new students this autumn term, offering ballet, tap and modern dance from age 2½ upwards, with classes for all abilities including adult ballet. Free trial classes are available – visit www.farnhamdance.co.uk for more information.
All our services are free, but this is only possible due to the generosity of our amazing community. The Government/NHS only provide 25% of our costs, so we need to raise over £30,000 every day to provide our vital services.
Please donate what you can to help keep hospice care available to all those in our community who need us.
