Friday, 23 May 2014

A Guest Post from Linda Edge - HELPING SOMEONE

In December 2013 I had an idea, a dream to produce a Charity Single to try and raise some funding for Isle of Wight charities. I am a Support Worker for the charity YMCA Young Carers and up until last year my husband and I were foster carers, so we see the real need for services for vulnerable people, young and old.
 
my mum
After telling my brilliant and talented Mum my idea at Christmas 2013, the next day she had written some lyrics! Additional lyrics were written by my husband Martin Edge, Jamie Griffin, the local Reverend Helen O’Sullivan and myself. Thumbs up to all thumbs up The single and everything alongside it, has all snowballed from there and I have been blessed to have some amazing support behind me. I don't have a musical bone in my body but I have some fantastic local solo singers and groups who have given up their time to sing on the single. Thumbs up thumbs up  I also contacted a local man who owns his own recording studio, Jamie Griffin from Flyte Creative Media and he also jumped on board. Thumbs up thumbs up  Jamie wrote the music alongside my Mums lyrics, has recorded all the singers and we’ve been going around filming the charities for a video to accompany the download.  
Jamie Griffin

Our last bit of filming is on the 14th June on Compton Cliffs with all the singers and charities involved, so we’re praying for good weather.

Compton Cliffs
Local groups, The Brighstone Barnacles, The Brighstone Belles, Lanesend School Choir Club and soloists Emily Scotcher, Jamie Griffin, Dave Cooper and my big sister Julie Stonestreet have all made the single sound amazing! Thumbs up thumbs up


Julie Stonestreet
This is my gorgeous sister, Julie Stonestreet, being recorded in Jamie’s studio. Julie was the most difficult one to record as she lives in Kuwait, so we had to wait for her to visit to do her bit.


Helping Someone will premiere at the Helping Someone Release 

Concert that is being held in St Mary’s Church, Brighstone on the 5th July at 7pm. Entry is free and there will be a raffle and refreshments available.  {Concert Details}  The artists involved in the project will be performing individually at the event. I have been tremendously touched at the support from local businesses that have responded to my requests for raffle prizes and have given away very generous donations. Friends have also been very generous with gift donations and I feel especially honoured as times are tough in this current climate. So thank you to everyone who has donated.  Thumbs up thumbs up

The CD will be available to purchase at the concert and afterwards at selected charity shops and online as a download. 

The charities that will benefit from the proceeds of the sale of the single are YMCA Young Carers, www.ymca-fg.org/ who are dedicated to supporting young people who have a caring responsibility; John’s Club, /www.johnsclubiow.org who are actively supporting disability; Open Arms, /www.theopenarms.org.uk who provide vital support for the homeless; KissyPuppy – the Sophie Rolf Fund,http://kissypuppy.co.uk/ the well-known charity who are providing support to children suffering from life-shortening conditions and Age UK IOW, /www.ageuk.org.uk/who are concerned with the well-being of individuals aged 50 and above.

My heartfelt thanks (and thumbs up thumbs up) go out to everyone who has kindly given up their time and willingly contributed to this charity single as without them, my dream would not have become this reality. As a Support Worker for Young Carers, I see first-hand how desperately services are needed and I had this dream to produce a charity single to hopefully raise funds for some of our Islands amazing charities. This dream has come to fruition and I have many people to thank for making this happen.
The Brighstone Barnacles

John Phillips
Mostly, I would like to thank everybody for believing in me and helping my vision to fundraise much needed money for 5 very worthwhile charities.  Thumbs up
thumbs up

There are too many people to thank individually, but, but I would like to thank ALL the fantastic singers for getting involved and making this single so amazing! The Brighstone Barnacles, Brighstone Belles, Julie Stonestreet, Emily Scotcher, Jamie Griffin, Dave Cooper and Lanesend School Choir Club. I’d love to thank my Mum, Barbara Stonestreet, for believing in me and writing some fantastic lyrics and my husband Martin, Helen O’Sullivan and Jamie Griffin for help with additional wording.   Thumbs up thumbs up
Emily Scotcher
I would also like to thank my fantastic husband Martin and our amazing friends for listening to me burble on endlessly about every detail of this project and our sons, Che and Max for being so enthusiastic and for being so interested every step of the way. Your support means the world to me; thumbs up thumbs up,
baby Lucas

Producer, Singer & Lyricist
Thank you to baby Lucas Sanders and Grandma Valerie Archer for their hands which feature on the cover of this CD and to Dad James Sanders for taking the photo. I would like to thank everyone behind the scenes for all their support and Helen O’Sullivan and the church for their very generous donation to fund the CD. Finally, my hugest thanks must go to Jamie Griffin from Flyte Creative Media who has given all his time for free, (more thumbs up. thumbs up), creating the music, shooting the video and for his endless wealth of skill and knowledge. I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done.

From my original vision, everyone has given their all and created a song beyond my wildest dreams. 
I have been truly blessed with amazing support from everybody and I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for making my dream become a reality. My ultimate goal is that this single becomes a global number one and we can help similar charities further afield.

In advance, I would like to thank everyone who may buy a copy of the CD or purchase a download. By buying this single, you are helping to make the lives better for so many vulnerable people and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  To you all, thumbs up thumbs up.

Love Linda Edge

Linda Edge
Producer of Helping Someone, Isle of Wight
www.facebook.com/helpingsomeonesingle

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