The Musicians Benevolent Fund has become Help Musicians UK. The charity has adopted a new name and a fresh identity to help it reach out to all musicians across the UK.
Since 1921, Help Musicians UK has provided a vital lifeline for thousands of professional musicians. Its mission is to be there for musicians when they need help, whether that’s for one-off advice and guidance or for more intensive support.
The charity helps promising young artists in all genres to improve their skills and get started in a career, professional musicians who hit a crisis in their lives, such as accident or illness, as well as musicians in retirement and those needing special help as they grow older.
Despite seeing growing numbers of musicians needing help in recent years, research proved that many more musicians still don’t know what the charity does. The new name Help Musicians UK is intended to put that right.
Executive Director David Sulkin, who recently received an OBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list, says: ‘We are proud of our history as the Musicians Benevolent Fund and what we’ve achieved so far, but we are equally aware of our responsibility to reach even more people. So we’ve changed our name to Help Musicians UK.'
The people who work for Help Musicians UK are driven by a love of music in all its forms and a close understanding of the pressures that professional musicians face. They know that being a musician can be a tough and precarious career.
Saxophonist Adam was devastated when an injury to his hands and wrists meant he couldn’t perform. He turned to Help Musicians UK which supported him with specialist care and living costs so that he could make a fast and full recovery and get back to work. He says: ‘I am eternally grateful to Help Musicians UK for the unbelievable support they gave me during an enforced extended lay off due to injury. I simply couldn’t have done it without them.’
You can read more about Help Musicians UK on its new website: helpmusicians.org.uk.
