Joe’s donation is music to our ears

Hospice says thanks for therapy project boost

They are blowing their own trumpet at St Vincent’s Hospice.

The new music therapy project at the charity in Howwood has received an amazing donation of instruments and state-of-the-art sound equipment from supporter Joe McGuire.

St Vincent’s recently began its music therapy project to break down barriers of illness and disability and encourage selfexpression.

Supporter Joe has more than 25 years’ experience in music and entertainment and decided to make the donation to St Vincent’s after seeing an article requesting instruments to support the project.

He said: “When I read that St Vincent’s were working with Nordoff Robbins to introduce music therapy, it was a nobrainer for me, having provided community entertainment in care homes, pensioner lunch clubs and adult resource centres for over 25 years.

“I always aimed to make sure that these were not only enjoyable events, but helped people reach personal outcomes and allowed live music to enrich the well-being for people in the community.

“A few years ago I took this passion to the next level, receiving Social Enterprise funding, along with support from Firstport and the Scottish Government, allowing me to purchase more equipment and deliver live events and therapeutic music sessions for people of all age groups.

“While my programme has since run its course, the equipment is of a very high quality and was just sitting there.

“I’m over the moon to have the opportunity to pass these resources on to St Vincent’s Hospice, making sure that the instruments and participation in live music will live on through their work with Nordoff Robbins.”

The donation includes multiple percussion instruments of all shapes and sizes, along with a wireless PA system and microphones that will ensure that patients, family members and supporters of the hospice can take part in the music therapy project and enjoy the benefits this has to offer.

Therese Campsie, from the hospice’s patient and family support team, said: “We are honestly blown away by the generosity shown by Joe, and cannot thank him enough for this amazing donation towards our project.

“At St Vincent’s, we are constantly looking for new ways to help support people and families who are living with a life-limiting condition, and we are very excited about the potential of music therapy.

“When we put out a request for instruments we had maybe been expecting a couple of guitars and keyboards from people who had them lying around. But this is above and beyond what we could have expected. We would like to say a huge thank you to Joe and to everyone who has donated any instruments to our project. We are very keen for the number of people taking part in this therapy to grow, so if you know anyone that would like to come along, let us know.”

 If you can help email Therese. Campsie@svh.co.uk or call 01505 705 635.

I’m over the moon to have the opportunity to pass these resources on