Anglia Ruskin University

Donation of £100,000 to support students

Anglia Ruskin University are delighted to receive a donation of £100,000 to support students at its Chelmsford campus. The money has been donated by Central Essex Community Services (CECS) - a social enterprise providing NHS services to over 370,000 people living in mid Essex.

CECS's 1,100-strong workforce of district nurses, health visitors, school nurses, therapy staff and public health professionals deliver care right across the Chelmsford, Braintree, Maldon and Halstead districts from three community hospitals and 12 community clinics, as well as in people's homes.

As a not-for-profit community interest company, CECS is committed to reinvesting any surpluses it makes into the community, staff and service developments.

If you wish to read more about this generous donation, you can see the full press release here.

Telethon 2012 raises £60,112.50

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported our 2012 Telethon!

This has been our second consecutive telephone campaign, raising much needed funds for Alumni Support Fund Scholarships, burns research, international community projects and a general fund for our most urgent priorities on campus. The Telethon is one of the largest initiatives for our Annual Fund and we are pleased to announce the total amount pledged and confirmed is £60,112.50. This is an impressive amount achieved through your generosity and support, and 67% up on our total from 2011.

Read more and learn about ways you can get involved on the Telethon page.

London concert raises £1,304.41 for music therapy

On 13th July, Professor Mike Thorne entertained a large number of our honorary award holders, staff and members of the public at a concert in St John's, Smith Square, London. Professor Thorne conducted the Cyprus Sinfonia in a selection of pieces by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, ending with an entertaining encore of 'Tea for Two'. The evening was a great success and raised slightly more than the £1120 that was collected in 2011. Every year, funds raised in this concert - which is sponsored by the LCA Business School London - go towards helping our music therapy students fund their travel to training placements around the country.

July 2012

Rebecca to take on extreme rickshaw challenge

You've most probably seen a rickshaw hurtling through the streets of London and wondered how safe they really are. Well, MA Music Therapy student Rebecca Pryce is soon to take this most novel form of travel to a new extreme.

In September this year, Rebecca is to take part in the 'The Adventurists Mototaxi Junket' which will take her across the Andes in Peru - in a rickshaw! She will be participating as part of a team called the 'Alpaca Toothbrush' to raise funds for our Music Therapy Appeal. If you would like to read more or are interested in sponsoring Rebecca for this extreme journey, please go to her sponsorship page.

Useless at slowing down and speeding up, turning corners and going in straight lines - so let the adventure begin!

July 2012

Cambridge Orchestra raise £688 for Music Therapy Appeal

Sampson Orchestra played to a full house on Saturday 16th June at the West Road Concert Hall, entertaining the audience with a mixed programme that included Gershwin and Delius. A retiring collection raised a fantastic £688 from generous audience members and guests which included our patron of the appeal Dame Mary Archer.

Anglia Ruskin University's Music Therapy Appeal provides therapy to children and adults across Cambridge and the surrounding area as well as training music therapists. Our fundraising efforts continue to provide help with the considerable cost of training practitioners, running therapy services and funding research. Our particular focus at the moment is to raise funds to buy musical instruments for our new building which will be based in Young Street.

June 2012

Loren McCarthy wins Tempest Art Prize

Thanks to Tempest photography (our graduation photographers) who once again this year sponsored a prize for the best contribution to the photographic community at Cambridge School of Art. Loren McCarthy won this year's prize for not only being a team player but also her great photographic work.

June 2012

'Give as you Live' for the Anglia Ruskin Music Therapy Appeal

Here is a unique opportunity to make a regular gift to our Music Therapy Appeal, but at absolutely no cost to you whatsoever! 'Give as you Live' is a free application that, once you have downloaded it to your computer, allows us to automatically reclaim a small percentage of any online purchases you make from the partnering retailers. The partner retailers include Amazon, iTunes, ASOS, Ticketmaster, The Trainline and thousands more. Simply go to our Give as you Live page to read more about this initiative and to download the app to your computer.

YOU really can make a huge difference without any extra effort.

• For every person that downloads Give as you Live and spends £100 online during the year, we could raise up to £5.
• If every Anglia Ruskin alumnus downloaded Give as you Live and spent £100 online during the year, we could raise around £150,000. This could pay for over 3,000 group sessions of music therapy for people suffering from a range of conditions including autism, dementia and schizophrenia.

...and all at no extra cost to anybody!

April 2012

Golfers raise thousands for Music Therapy Appeal

Golfers in Cambridge have had a ball raising money for the Music Therapy Appeal at Anglia Ruskin University.

Girton Golf Club raised £3,557.51 as their ladies' and men's captains, Joan Grayer and David Upchurch, combined their efforts to support the appeal throughout 2011. Girton held a number of fundraising events throughout the year, including a golf day in September and a dinner.

Music Therapy at Anglia Ruskin was established on the Cambridge campus in 1994 and, in addition to providing the first MA in Music Therapy training in the UK, the department is a centre for excellence in research.

Music Therapy transforms confidence and builds emotional and mental wellbeing for those experiencing illness, disability and trauma; and also encourages expression and creativity.