Students from a Carlisle-based theatre school are gearing up to perform at a fundraising event to support three charities looking to improve the lives of young people and those suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
Razz at the Races will be on Sunday 30th April at The Halston Carlisle and will feature children from part-time theatre school Razzamataz Carlisle. The race night will feature performances from the students, buffet, raffle and a disco. The school is currently looking for businesses to sponsor a race and individuals who would like to name a horse as well as donations of raffle prizes.
The three charities that are being supported are MS-UK, which is a national charity dedicated to empowering people with multiple sclerosis, JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity and Razzamataz’s own charity Future Fund, which offers financial assistance to former students attending full-time performing arts training at college or university.
The three charities are all very close to the entire team at Razzamataz. Earlier this year, the two-year old son of Denise Hutton-Gosney, MD and Founder of Razzamataz, developed type 1 diabetes. “It has been an incredibly difficult month for our whole family, it’s also been a frustrating time as unless you know this illness it’s easy to assume it’s ‘easy’ to manage, which it really isn’t especially for a two-year old,” says Denise. “It’s quite a sobering thought that less than 100 years ago this was a life sentence but thanks to Doctor Frederick Banting who discovered insulin in 1921, my son will now live a long healthy life, with good management of his diabetes. For now, that is mine and my husband’s job and it’s a battle we fight every day to keep him ‘in range’. Our lives are now ruled by numbers and alarm clocks 24/7, he cannot go too high or too low, worse case scenario of both of these are diabetic comas. But my little boy is a real life super hero and he copes with up to ten injections a day in his thighs that are full of little bruises. Diabetes is an awful disease to live with, but it has brought us closer together as a family. Hopefully by raising funds, there will be a cure for this one day and I thank all the team at Razzamataz Carlisle for their support.”
The Future Fund launched in 2014 and has so far awarded Razzamataz students more than £8,000 worth of Future Fund scholarships to help with their costs for further education in performing arts. The first recipient was Lauryn Jamieson, from Razzamataz Carlisle who was awarded £3,000 to train at prestigious performing arts school Rose Bruford.
The Principal of Razzamataz Carlisle Debbie Mitchell has also selected MS-UK in support of her sister Lyndsey who was diagnosed with MS when she was just 20. She says: “Lyndsey has lived with MS for more than ten years. To look at her you would think she is a normal, fit and healthy 31 year-old and for most of the time she is. But she has relapsed multiple times since being diagnosed and even lost her sight twice for a few months after having her first child. She receives treatment every other week at hospital and despite all of this, she ran the London Marathon in 2015 to raise funds for the charity.”
Debbie and Razzamataz are no strangers to fundraising and at the recent annual Conference, they were delighted to receive the award for Best Community Spirit, thanks to their dedication to the work they do in the local community. The students regularly use their talents to raise money for wonderful causes such as Cash for Kids and Hospice at Home and have literally raised thousands of pounds over the years entertaining people and making them smile in difficult times.
“I’m incredibly proud of the commitment of my team, students and their families to all of our fundraising events,” adds Debbie. “These three charities are very close to our Razzamataz family and it is wonderful that we can help raise funds and awareness to help those in need.”
For more information about the fundraising event or Razzamataz Carlisle, contact Debbie Mitchell on [email protected] or call 07809121494.
