Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois, who is also the President of Rayleigh Brass Band, attended their recent spring concert at the Mill Hall in Rayleigh and presented two £850 cheques to Havens Hospices and Supporting Carers and Families Together (SCAFT) with the money having been raised by the band whilst out playing and carolling at Christmas.
The band were playing at a concert on the theme of “Flight” and went through a variety of numbers, ranging from the movie theme for “Superman” to “Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines”. The concert was also deemed a suitable opportunity to pass on cheques to two very worthwhile local charities and Mark was happy to help out with the presentation.
Havens Hospices run hospices in the local South Essex area, including the very popular Little Havens Hospice in Benfleet, for whom the band raised £850. They also raised a similar amount for local charity SCAFT, which helps to provide support for young people who are acting as carers for their parents, in sometimes very challenging circumstances.
Commenting on the concert and the presentation of the cheques, Mark said:
“Rayleigh Brass band were in their usual fine form at their spring concert and as the band President, I was proud to hand over two cheques on their behalf to two such very worthwhile charities as Haven Hospices and SCAFT. As well as providing wonderful music for people in and around the area, the band also pride themselves on their fundraising role and it was great to see the money that they had collected over the Christmas period being put to such very good use. I should declare an interest in saying this, as I am also the President of the SCAFT charity and so was doubly pleased to see them being supported in this way.”