There can’t be a better way of celebrating International Jazz Day than by announcing that we have reached our I AM WARRIOR fundraising target of £100k!
Thank you to everyone who has given to the campaign since we launched it at the Jazz Café in London at the end of last October.
Over the past 33 years we have helped nurture thousands of young Black and female jazz musicians, and those who come from challenging circumstances that would be a barrier to accessing opportunities to pursue a music career. This diversity is at the heart of everything we stand for as a charity and is not something we are prepared to lose. However, it is only achievable by keeping our Learning and Development Programme free and accessible to all. Your support is a critical part of achieving this.
To hit our campaign goal on International Jazz Day is great, but to do so within 48 hours of spending three days with our young musicians lighting up the stages at Brick Lane Jazz Festival is even more poignant. The level of talent and passion that they bought to their performances was inspiring. And beyond that, the sense of musical community embodied by the Warriors family was beautiful to see – youngsters encouraging their peers, older heads and alumni coming down to cheer in the crowd, cross generational groups catching up and chatting as they headed from one venue to the next, this was a Warriors gathering!
However, with cuts to music education, local youth services and cultural departments being felt not just across London but nationally, access to music lessons, a pathway into a career in the music industry, or even just a community of like-minded creatives is getting harder for so many to access.
And that is why your donation is so important. It helps build opportunity, democratises music education and means that together, we can continue to support the next jazz generation.
THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, for walking alongside us throughout this campaign. We appreciate you!
If you would like to learn more about how you can get closer to our work and support Tomorrow’s Warriors going forward, please click here.