To mark my 60th birthday I’ll be walking the final 100km of the Portuguese Coastal Route of the Camino de Santiago, running from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela. It’s a personal challenge for me and also a way for me to raise funds for two Sheffield-based charities, both supporting people experiencing homelessness: The Choir with No Name Sheffield and The Archer Project. I'll be turning 60 on the day we arrive into Santiago de Compostela.

Visit my Give As You Live - Fundraising page

My wife and I started volunteering at The Choir With No Name [Sheffield] in January 2025 after hearing about it at the Archer Project carol service. I was nervous at first, not knowing whether I had anything to offer of value and whether I'd fit it, but I soon got involved and began to feel part of the family.

I began photographing the choir at our first gig and other events. Often when I come to edit and process the photos I find it very emotional to see the sheer joy, energy and enthusiasm on the faces of the choir members. You can see some of these on my website, where I have a whole section dedicated to the choir members. So please have a look, particularly at the ‘individuals' pages where you can see the joy and energy on the members faces.

Singing has many proven links with benefits to physical and psychological health reducing stress and anxiety. Group singing further enhances well-being through social bonding and a sense of community, which can combat loneliness and isolation, and we really do see this in the feedback from our members, where they describe the choir as a family.

A typical choir rehearsal will begin informally where we chat with the choir members. Then we'll sing together, getting songs ready for our next gig, and we'll finish the evening with a hot meal prepared by the volunteers using the Archer Project facilities. £1000 will keep these projects running for two weeks with hot meals and music-filled rehearsals at The Choir with No Name, plus two weeks of running the kitchen at The Archer Project.

Please support this as generously as you can and if you can come along to one of our gigs and see us live!

Visit my Give As You Live - Fundraising page