The Games Maker Choir supports Mental Health Awareness Week – here’s why.
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and, as a choir who have come together through sports volunteering, we recognise and embrace the mental health benefits of doing things together. Even more so in 2020, which has become the most surreal and challenging year for many.
Its well documented that singing is great for your mental (and physical) health. Our choir members can give testament to these benefits through their shared experiences in singing, music, sport and the Games Maker Choir family, including:
Witnessing elite sports men & women, and all their support teams, working together through the highs and lows of international competitions.
Working with volunteering strangers who then become friends through the shared experiences of giving time and skills (old and new) at international sporting events.
And the support and joy gained by singing with a group of those friends who have come together from different locations, backgrounds and life experiences and now share common goals; to enjoy learning new skills together, to grow in confidence and expertise and above all to support each other, both within the choir and through life’s ups and downs.
Now more than ever, that support is evident through the magic of technology, with our clever team of volunteers creating online rehearsals, 1:1 tutorials, weekly choir quizzes, games and social gatherings, sharing stories of our daily exercise walks and ‘lockdown’ birthdays and more. The choir is arguably even more ‘together’ than ever, filling those gaps in the diary and giving a focus to these lockdown days.
We’ve asked our choir members and supporters to comment on the particular benefits they experience from singing with the choir. If you’d like to comment, we’d love to hear from you too on our social channels, see the links below.
Are you a sporting volunteer? Why not consider joining our choir family?
In fact, joining a choir of any sort, at any time, is highly recommended and there are lots of online opportunities to do so now. Search for one (or more) that takes your fancy and try it out today.
If you are a sporting volunteer and would like to join the choir, please click here, watch the video and get in touch
Watch the Choir’s Showreel here
For even more inspiration and information about the choir, find and follow our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Margaret - May 21, 2020