Our Big Review of the Year - 2022!
This year has been a fabulous year of AAM milestones, and we couldn’t be prouder of our small charity with a big heart. We celebrated our 40th birthday in true AAM style, had fantastic fundraising heroes and came back from 2021 stronger than ever!
A year of firsts
We kicked off the year with our first busking event at the Asda Superstore in Monks Cross. The Hands & Voices and IMPs choirs came together and sang some of their favourite songs for Saturday shoppers. This was the first time that our choirs had performed together indoors since 2019, and they smashed it.
It was a joy to see the smiles they brought to the faces of everyone who stopped by to watch. And to see everyone together again with their friends, smiling and having fun was an AAM-azing moment.
Our choirs loved performing together, and soon it was time to get everyone together again for another performance. This time we teamed up with our friends in the Copmanthorpe Community Choir. We wanted to Celebrate our awesome participants, our friends, and the fact it was our first big indoor gig since November 2019.
We chose long-standing partners York St John University as a venue and all that was left to do was get the gang together. The energy was electric, and everyone sang beautifully. We were so happy to see folk enjoying themselves on stage again – it was an afternoon full of smiles!
It'd been a long old road to getting to this point, and we’re so proud of our participants for being AAM-azing, as always. Getting there involved adapting to change as we came out of the pandemic, which we did with an exciting new hybrid model. We rolled it out to our Hands & Voices project in May and it was an instant hit!
It meant that participants could join in in person, at our new venue Marjorie Waite Court, or online on Zoom – whatever they felt comfortable with.
Not to be left out of the fun of performing on stage, our Movers & Shakers got in on the action at our Big Birthday Bash. The group stole the show in their first performance in front of an audience with a mesmerising soundscape and scarf dance.
It made our 40th Birthday celebration even more special. The event also celebrated our 30-year partnership with York St John University, 25 years of Hands & Voices and 10 years of IMPs – a very special day indeed! Made even more so by our friends from Communitas and York St John Contemporary Ensemble, who joined in with some beautiful performances.
Speaking of our 40th Birthday, we’ve had an absolute blast digging through the archives as part of our celebrations. It’s been wonderful to look back at our beginnings and see how far we’ve come.
Our Big Birthday Bash was a perfect example of who we are as a charity, and we couldn’t be prouder of our participants, old and new. Our social platforms have been full of nostalgia, silly photos, and lovely films from the past. If you missed out, we’ve got some lovely birthday articles that you can find here.
IMUSE goes from strength to strength
This year was also a big year for our iMUSE for Wellbeing programme. In July, after 2 years at The Raylor centre, we moved into our new home at New Earswick Folk Hall. Since then, we’ve seen our programme go from strength to strength, with more referrals than ever. Dom Smith, disability journalist, former AAM volunteer and trustee turned advocate, dropped in to try iMUSE for himself.
As a mental health champion, Dom was keen to experience the impact our kit had on mental well-being. Through music, vibrations, visuals, and sounds, Dom was able to feel the effects immediately. Creative Director Rose, and iMUSE facilitator Tom were only happy enough to talk about the importance of the programme.
You can read what they said on Wobbling About and Rocking Out (WARO), Dom’s website, where he actively promotes disability in the creative arts and more.
A year of Fundraising Heroes
This year was also a big year for fundraising for AAM. It was the year we took to the river Ouse as one of York Rotary’s two nominated charities for the Dragon Boat Challenge. We are incredibly proud that our team, Seas the Day, were one of the most inclusive teams out on the water.
It included staff, participants, volunteers, friends, carers and even York Rotary President Mary Lumley! As a result of their efforts, our team raised a fabulous £1,945.
Together, the teams raised some serious funds – over £80,000 in total! And, as nominated charities, York Rotary awarded AAM and Antibiotic Research UK a whopping £13,600 each!
A huge shoutout to all the teams who took part in this year's event, you're AAM-azing. And a massive thank you to York Rotary for putting on a fantastic event and supporting AAM.
Speaking of water, we had one fundraising hero who really made a splash this year. Nick Boaz, brother of Hands & Voices superstar Katie, took on an epic Summer of Swimming challenge and raised £2,080 for AAM.
He swam the Great North Swim, Windermere and had a crack at swimming the Channel - what an incredible achievement! You can read more about his challenge here.
Another fundraising hero, local legend, and now the York Mix People’s Choice Charitable Person of the Year is Ian Donaghy. Known locally as Big Ian, he and his team put together a fantastic evening of music and local talent every year called A Night to Remember. And every year, they raise lots of money and awareness for dementia projects and other local causes.
This year was no different, and they raised an epic £24,311! AAM is incredibly grateful to be a beneficiary of this fantastic evening, and as a result, this year we received £4,800. Thanks, Big Ian!
Hands & Voices fundraising legend Claire didn’t ask for presents for her birthday this year. Instead, she asked well-wishers to donate to AAM. Thanks to her amazing kindness, Claire raised £400 for Accessible Arts & Media. How fab is that?! Thanks for being a superstar, Claire!
Happy couple Peter Sutton and Nic White didn’t ask for gifts when they tied the knot this year. Instead, they asked guests and loved ones to donate to AAM. Their wonderful generosity has raised over £600 and counting.
A huge thank you and congratulations to the newlyweds!
Long-standing friends JNJS Classic Soul have also been working hard in aid of AAM. In November, they raised a fantastic £505 from their legendary soul night. They put on several gigs a year and donate the proceeds to local causes like ours. This year, they asked us to put their donation towards Hands & Voices, and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.
We’re very grateful to all our fundraising heroes, whose help and support mean the world.
New faces
This year saw volunteer Jodie join our staff team. After working with our IMPs as part of her university placement, she decided AAM was for her. She now works as Project Assistant, alongside Programme Manager Hannah and Inclusion Support Coordinator Alison. You'll be seeing a lot of her work across our projects as she helps to run the sessions. She’s an asset to the team, and we’re looking forward to seeing her grow in her role.
Well, it’s just about time to wrap up this review of the year. And what a wonderful year it’s been. Before we do, we want to give a huge thank you to our fabulous participants, supporters, funders, trustees, volunteers, staff, family, and friends who’ve supported AAM throughout the year.
Here’s to another AAM-azing year ahead!