Andy C and Foreign Beggars help raise over £11,000 for music youth charity bus
Give to the Beat took place on Wednesday 11 September.
Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF), which makes a positive change to the lives of young people through the medium of music and creativity, celebrated its 10th anniversary anniversary at its Give to the Beat fundraiser this week.
Hosted by PRS for the Community at PRS for Music’s Kings Cross office, supporters of the charity, including YouTube Music, raised over £11,000 towards maintaining the charity’s Outreach Media Bus, so that it can continue to deliver its programmes over the autumn and winter months, teaching music production, songwriting and vocal recording skills to youngsters who are at risk of being influenced and groomed by child exploitation groups.
The evening, filled with music and inspirational stories, included performances from UK hip-hop and dubstep group Foreign Beggars and Tanya Cracknell aka The Grime Violinist. While guest speakers included, DJ and co-founder of RAM Records, Andy C and Nesta McGregor, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra entertainment reporter. Performances from YUAF young people also took centre stage, who many it was the first time performing to an audience.
Since it started ten years ago, YUAF has helped to keep almost 18,000 young people safe across the UK.
Thank you to PRS for the Community, our event sponsor YouTube Music and all the brands and individuals who donated auction items to help us towards our fundraising target of £28,000. With 80% of youth centres closed down, our bus is sometimes the only opportunity for young people to process their feelings. With many young people witnessing or being victims of serious violence and exploitation, we create a safe space to help build their community, make new friends, learn new skills, increase confidence and most importantly, keep them safe, cared for, inspired and listened to.
YUAF is one of PRS for the Community’s chosen charities for 2019, an initiative that connects PRS for Music staff with volunteering opportunities and celebrates the individual fundraising and charitable work of its employees.
The work that Kerry and the YUAF team do is vital and we are proud to support them via our PRS for the Community programme. The youth are the future, by strengthening their mental wellbeing through creativity and culture we can help keep them safe, empowered, educated and inspired.
About Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF)
Since 2009, YUAF has been helping vulnerable and disadvantaged young people fulfil their potential by engaging them with music and other arts. YUAF create a safe space for young people to break free from the fears and barriers they face, process their feelings many of which witness serious violence. The passionate, experienced and creative YUAF all with backgrounds in the creative industries coming from backgrounds which young people can relate to, enables this their unique team to build trust, healthy relationships and identify the emotional and aspirational needs of the young people. Through Young Urban Arts Foundation programmes, young people expand their creativity, skills and self-esteem, with many gaining the confidence to get into employment or further education, whilst others might overcome personal issues they may have. YUAF deliver exciting workshops and programmes in the heart of communities using its unique Outreach Media Bus, or by bringing staff and resources to schools, community centres, youth hubs or any venue that needs it.
About PRS for Music
PRS for Music represents the rights of songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK and around the world. As a membership organisation it works to ensure that creators are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. With over 100 representation agreements in place globally, PRS for Music's network represents over two million music creators worldwide. In 2018, 11.2 trillion performances of music were reported to PRS for Music with £746m collected on behalf of its members, making it one of the world’s leading music collective management organisations.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is a new music streaming service made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover - all the ways music moves you can be found in one place - not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can't get anywhere else.
