The evening of Thursday 10th October saw New York Stadium open its doors to Here’s Jonny, a local band that made a lasting impression on the stadium.
The event was organised by young people from the Rotherham United National Citizen Service programme. The group attended a week long residential in the Lake District in the summer to develop their team work skills, whilst also learning independent living skills. This was then followed by a second week at Sheffield University where they developed even further skills to equip them for their future life.Following these 2 phases the group were asked to create a social action project to benefit there local community. During the decision making process the group visited Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice and they were astounded at the work that went on there and how much support is offered to children and families with shortened life expectancy, both in their homes and at the hospice. When the group heard that it costs over £3 million a year to provide the vital service to families in the region, and that Bluebell Wood only receive less than 5% statutory funding towards this, they felt strongly that this was the project they wanted to support.
The group spent 30 hours of their free time designing and developing the fundraising event, whilst doing so they learnt skills in marketing, sales and media to name a few. The young people were also fortunate enough to receive support from Herringthorpe Young People’s Centre, who gave musical support during rehearsals and also helped with the event on the evening.
The end result was the “Bluebell Bash” which was a concert held on Thursday 10th October at New York Stadium. Alisha Vickers and Luke Hodgkinson (NCS participants) performed followed by “Here’s Jonny” headlining, who’s performance was kindly donated free of charge to support the charity. The event was a great success raising £433 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.