Wales & West Utilities has thrown its support behind one of its colleagues who is seeking to take 50 young budding musicians to represent Wales in the European Youth Brass Band (EYBB) competition in Malmo, Sweden later this year.
Sarah Burgess, who has been involved in banding since the age of 12, is just one of the volunteers at South Wales Youth Band who is working tirelessly to raise thousands of pounds to enable the musicians to travel to Malmo and do Wales proud in the competition.
Sarah, who’s worked at gas emergency and pipeline service, Wales & West Utilities, for over 32 years, approached her employer for support and is delighted they lent a helping hand in providing a £300 donation to help the band on their way.
The band has been chosen to represent Wales and will play on 7 May. They will compete against 14 other countries.
Sarah, a First line Manager, explains:
For the band to be chosen to represent Wales is such a huge honour and we’re really excited to be competing on the European stage. However, this comes at a cost, and we’ve been tirelessly fundraising to make dreams come true for our young band members.
We’re holding events including a sponsored walk, run and ride in a bid to cover the 931 miles it would take to drive from south Wales to Malmo to raise funds to cover the costs of the competition. I’m grateful for my employer’s contribution – every penny counts in trying to help our young musicians have such an amazing experience.
Wales & West Utilities is the gas emergency and pipeline service for Wales and the south west of England and provided the funding as part of its commitment to support the communities it serves.
Gareth Price, Performance Manager at Wales & West Utilities, said:
The work that Sarah does to volunteer a huge amount of her time to help young musicians is fantastic – all on top of her role with us.
We look to support our colleagues who tirelessly go the extra mile to volunteer their time to help clubs and organisations in their local communities and we are delighted to play a small part in South Wales Youth Band’s journey to Malmo.
We’ll be supporting the band every step of the way and wish them every success for the competition.
To support the efforts of the band and to make a donation please visit: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/miles-to-malmo
Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night. Before visiting, we'll ask you to let us know if you or anyone in your household, is experiencing Coronavirus symptoms or self-isolating. We'll still come and help you: but our teams will take some additional precautions to keep us all safe.