Carnival Raises Thousands For Alice

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Youth Music Memorial Fund stands at £28,000 with more events planned

Hanwell Carnival paid tribute to Alice Gross with thousands of pounds raised for the Youth Music Fund set up in her memory.

The musically gifted teenager was found dead on September 30th last year and since then her family and friends have been raising funds to support other talented musicians.

Alice's Music Tent hosted local musicians including many who had known the 14-year-old. Money was collected in the park and a Pimms tent also raised £700.

Alice's mum, Ros Hodgkiss, spoke to Viv Ellis:

“We are so grateful to the Hanwell Carnival team for letting us collect for Alice's Youth Music Memorial Fund - at this year’s carnival.  It gave me the opportunity to meet some of the lovely people who have supported our family throughout this horrific ordeal, whilst celebrating Alice’s life through a wonderful programme of music at Alice’s Music Tent. 

''There were a number of young people playing, including some of Alice’s friends. This is always a bitter sweet experience – I am pleased to be able to see young people moving forward and meeting their potential in such an amazing way, whilst feeling almost unbearably sad that Alice is not there, enjoying  it with them.

''The day did not have an auspicious beginning.  It was cold and slightly drizzly, but everyone battled on, even in the pouring rain at 5.30.  We were blessed with support from a number of family and friends who set up the stall whilst I was running the Osterley 10K.   It was important for me to try and do both events, but I don’t know how much use I was after the run!  Nina, Alice’s sister, was teaching people to crochet and lots of children made flowers, either for their own Alice bands, or as part of a wall hanging that she is making for Boston Manor Park. 

''The stall was right next to Alice’s Music Tent so we were not only able to hear the incredible performances but we also had the chance to meet the carnival royalty and lots of local people who had left tributes to Alice at the clock tower.  It was comforting to know that so many people care.

'In total we raised £1990 from the buckets, raffle, tombola and the sales of T Shirts, CDs and Alice bands.  There were some incredibly generous individual donations, for example from Jeff and his lovely Hammersmith Morris men who donated both as a group and later the contents of their “hat” after a performance right by our stall.   Thank you so much for that.   We are also extremely grateful to the many local businesses and individuals who donated raffle prizes.   There were some text and individual donations raising the total to £2197.50.  An additional £1302.50 was raised through the Osterley 10K, increasing the total of Alice’s Fund to over £28500 as a result of the weekend.

''The National Foundation for Youth Music is a fantastic charity that supports over 400 music projects around the country for children and young people in challenging circumstances. These include disability, poverty, mental health issues or difficult living circumstances such as being a refugee or in care. For many of these young people, having access to music-making opportunities transforms their lives.   Alice loved music and tackled many of her problems through singing and song writing.  We hope to honour her memory by creating a lasting legacy that supports other young musicians.''

 

Two further events are planned this month. 

On July 4th the Grosvenor Pub will be hosting Alice’s Wonderlands, featuring Duncan Brookfield, Sweet Bandit, Robert Hokum, Matt Wyatt, Golden Medicine Show and Kings of Wonderland, £5 on the door. 

On 21st July, Forecast Academy will be staging ‘A Concert For Alice’ at the Ambassadors theatre in the west end. Award-winning singer-songwriter Laura Mvula (an ambassador for Youth Music), Britain’s Got Talent stars Escala, X-Factor finalists Lloyd Daniels and Niki Evans along with leading West End performer Julie Atherton, will come together with a host of other established artists including ZooNation and London Contemporary Voices for an evening of music and dance in aid of Alice’s Youth Music Memorial Fund. More information on A Concert for Alice is available at www.aconcertforalice.com

Twitter: @aconcert4alice  and tickets are now on sale via www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk Box Office: 08448 112 334

 

 

 

2nd July 2015