The VINCI UK Foundation grant will support the choirs for children and adults with severe learning disabilities to continue to make music, perform and connect.

As part of its mission to tackle social exclusion and strengthen communities across the UK and Ireland, the VINCI UK Foundation has awarded Soundabout Inclusive Choirs £4,266 to purchase instruments and IT equipment. At the same time, VINCI employees are keen to provide practical assistance with the running of the choirs, which provide a positive and inclusive space for singers of all ages and abilities to connect and explore their potential.

Soundabout founded its first Inclusive Choir in Oxford in 2019 to create musical communities without barriers and give a voice to people with severe and profound learning disabilities. Despite lockdowns and social distancing, the project has grown significantly since then to 12 inclusive choirs: Bristol, Birmingham, Coventry, Leicestershire, Oxford, Oxford Youth, Peterborough, Sandwell, Solihull, West Midlands Virtual, Worcestershire and Wiltshire.

James Sloane, internal recruitment advisor for VINCI Energies brand Actemium, who will act as sponsor for the charity, said: “Soundabout is a great charity offering an important function within local communities. I am thrilled to be the VINCI Energies sponsor to Soundabout and can’t wait to help. Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of music in their lives?!”
Soundabout CEO Clare Cook said: “Soundabout exists to make music change the lives of people with severe and profound learning disabilities, by building musical communities without barriers like our Soundabout Inclusive Choirs. We are hugely grateful to VINCI for supporting us with the equipment needed to launch and run five new hybrid (online and face to face) choir communities across the West Midlands and South West.”

The VINCI UK Foundation launched in 2016 to promote social integration and cohesion in the communities surrounding VINCI businesses. Since then, the Foundation has donated almost £1.2 million, as well as practical assistance from VINCI employees, to 169 charities across the UK and Republic of Ireland that focus on improving access to training, employment, housing, healthcare, mobility and leisure activities for society’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
More details can be found at www.soundabout.org.uk and www.vinci-uk-foundation.co.uk