Sweet Chorus play for Kynan's fund
When Kynan Eldridge was killed by his landlord in Mansfield in June 2006, his parents Peter and Anne Eldridge were robbed of their only child and their dreams for the future.
With a desire to give the future some shape and purpose, Peter and Anne decided to set up a Trust in Kynan's name, to support young people with similar interests to his own.
After reading about the tragic story in the local newspaper, Zoë Keens of Nottinghamshire Community Foundation (NCF) made contact with the journalist covering the Eldridge's story to offer the Foundation's services to fulfil their desire to start a fund.
NCF was able to set up a fund that met Peter and Anne's wishes to provide small grants to young people (under the age of 30) who are using music, both modern and classical, to help them overcome personal challenges and achieve their full potential. By providing a straightforward and easy way to start a fund, and taking out all the legal hassle and annual auditing of a trust fund, this has freed Peter and Anne to do the fun bit of raising funds.
The fund will give particular support to individuals and groups who are based in the Mansfield and Hucknall areas. As an endowment fund, the interest gained on the fund will be given out year after year as grants in Kynan's name.
Another element of the fund will be an annual music award in memory of Kynan's grandfather, Mr Bernard Slee of Hucknall. Mr. Slee, who passed away four months after Kynan's untimely death, shared with his grandson a love of music. His passion was for opera so the family is working in conjunction with Nottingham University to make this award to students who are studying opera singing.
The Eldridges plan to make their first grants on 23rd January, a small annual celebration of Kynan's birthday. Details of how to apply will be announced on this website in December,
If you would like to help and encourage local young musicians you can make a donation to this fund please call Janet Hall at NCF on 01623 636365.
If you are thinking of starting your own fund, perhaps in memory of a loved one, please contact us at NCF on 01623 636365 to answer any questions you may have. There are more details on the Ways to Give pages of this website.