A fund set up after the tragic death of three-year-old Rosa Simon is already helping many other youngsters to share her great love of music.
Because Rosa enjoyed music, singing and dancing so much that a special fund was established after her death, and is making “a real and enduring difference to young people’s lives” after just six months.
That is the view of Rosa’s father, Paul, who set up the Rosa Simon Music Fund in memory of his daughter. The three-year-old died in June last year after an accident outside the family home in Hadleigh.
Her love of music inspired Mr Simon to set up the fund in order to help provide more and improved musical opportunities to other youngsters in the town.
Half a year on from the first grant made by the fund it has now raised £15,000 and given £5,500 to 15 projects.
The latest award is the largest so far, £1,500 to the Hadleigh Community Choir, means a new junior choir can be set up for the first time.
A delighted Mr Simon said: “A lot of what we have done is give money to youngsters to continue learning different instruments.
“We have supported quite a large number of local groups to buy new multi-cultural percussion instruments and we have also, through the latest donation, begun to realise a particularly significant project which is offering choral singing to children over many, many years.
“What with the horror of the death of our daughter, the support we as a family received and the take-up and range of exciting projects in the long term, it is all about being inspired by Rosa’s life.”
Mr Simon added the fund was now applying to become a charity and would also begin to look at helping projects across Suffolk, though those in Hadleigh would always be the group’s main focus.
Peter Finch, chairman of the Hadleigh Community Choir, said: “It has always been the aim of Hadleigh Community Choir to include children up to age 16 and while we had lots of community support and volunteers who wanted to work with the juniors the stumbling block had been raising the money to cover the operating costs.
“Thanks now to Rosa’s fund that has all changed. This generous grant will enable us to launch our new junior section with a professional music team.
“The official launch of the junior section will be in September when local eight to 16-year-old children and their parents will be invited to come and hear our plans.
“Rehearsals will start in October and the first appearance of the juniors will be at Hadleigh Community Choir’s official Christmas Concert on December 12.”
Following Rosa’s death last summer, the whole of the community in Hadleigh rallied around her family to support them in both practical and emotional ways. That support was recognised at last year’s Stars of Suffolk awards, when the town was given a Special Recognitiion award.
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