Director & Trustee:
Play for Progress
Play for Progress delivers therapeutic and educational music and arts programmes, advocacy, and well-being support for unaccompanied minor refugees and asylum seekers.
My relationship with Play for Progress (PFP) began in 2017 when, as part of organising a fundraising concert in aid of the Refugee Council, I attended some music workshops ran by PFP. The power and impact of the work PFP does was immediately apparent and I was bowled over by the vision and energy of its two co-founders, Alyson Frazier and Anna Macdonald.
Following that introduction to their work I invited PFP and their participants to give a performance at Southbank Centre ahead of the fundraising concert taking place in Royal Festival Hall. All the young people involved were also given tickets to attend the concert and invited backstage to meet some of the professional musicians involved. My relationship with PFP has grown from there and, in 2020 I became a Trustee working on fundraising, sustainability and strategic planning.
As a member of both our Fundraising and Impact Subcommittees, I play an active role in shaping how we articulate the incredible work of PFP, while ensuring we are sufficiently financially resilient to be able to deliver that work consistently now and into the future. It is a huge privilege to work alongside my fellow trustees, the wonderful team at PFP, and our community of incredible young people.
PFP Art Facilitator, Dima Karout, putting the finishing touches to Roots and Branches, an exhibition of our participants' work at the Museum of Croydon in 2019.
PFP Tutors and Participants in a performance at Southbank Centre.
Members of our Young Leaders Council dance and play music at one of our residential courses.
A PFP tutor giving out Certificates of Excellence to our young participants.