Dear Inner Wheel members in Great Britain and Ireland

Jessie’s Fund is delighted to the President’s Chosen Charity 2018-2019 and we look forward to your friendship and support through the year as you help us to make a difference to the lives of children and young people across the country.

Jessie’s Fund helps seriously ill children, and those with special needs, through the creative and therapeutic use of music. Founded in 1995 in memory of my nine-year-old daughter, we know that music has the power to help children and young people who have difficulties communicating. Our work takes place in special schools, children’s hospices, respite centres and hospitals, where we have helped thousands of children and young people like Sam:

‘My son is extremely sensitive to sound, he has very little sight and struggles to process anything, but music offers a window through which he can communicate. As soon as Carrie plays her oboe, his head turns towards her and he listens so carefully to the sound she is making. He becomes very still, then begins to vocalise and has the most wonderful musical conversation with her. It is about the only thing that engages him and stops him from being completely cut off from the world.’

One of the programmes you will be supporting is our Soundtracks work in special schools. This provides both a wonderful musical experience for the students whilst also training staff in music techniques to use in the classroom every day. By building the skills and confidence of the staff team we can ensure our work has a lasting impact.

‘Music can reach our pupils in so many ways …. Last year Jessie’s Fund came in not only to work with our children, but to train our teachers and learning support staff to carry on with music once they’d left. So now we have music coming out of all the classrooms, walking along the corridors, and we’re famous in Solihull and Birmingham!’

You can find out much more about our work at www.jessiesfund.org.uk, where there are also some short video clips. And if social media is for you, do follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/JessiesFund.uk) and twitter (https://twitter.com/JessiesFund) for up-to-date snippets.

Should you need any supporting material for an event, or if you would like us to come and speak in your District, just get in touch with us at info@jessiesfund.org.uk.

We are hugely grateful to Ann Acaster, Association President 2018-2019, for choosing Jessie’s Fund. As a small, national charity, we work hard to raise the funding necessary for our work – you are going to make a huge difference.

Here’s to a great partnership!

Lesley Schatzberger
Director/Founder