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Season's Greetings from The Swan Song Project!

Thank you for signing up to receive our newsletter. We hope that you enjoy reading our final edition for 2021. If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.

We look forward to sharing more with you in 2022!
In-Person Podcast with the Alabama 3's Larry Love
Ben Buddy Slack went to Brixton recently to record the first in-person episode of The Swan Song Project podcast with Larry Love.
 

Larry is a founding member and frontman of the Alabama 3. If you're not familiar with the band, you may recognise their track 'Woke Up This Morning' as the opening theme music from HBO's The Sopranos.

Ben, a big fan of the Alabama 3, said:


"It was awesome to spend some time with Larry. We had a fascinating and fun conversation about all things death, bereavement and songwriting."

You can find the full episode on our website and YouTube, plus Spotify or wherever you access your podcasts from. We hope that you enjoy this.
Swan Song Welcomes Two New Trustees
We are delighted that Steph Taylor and Fran Rodgers have joined our Board of Trustees. Steph and Fran both bring a wealth of skills and experience, as well as a great passion for the work that we do. To find out more about Steph and Fran, visit the Meet The Team section of our website.

 

Sky Betting & Gaming Colleagues Share Skills to Support Swan Song
Thank you to everyone at Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) involved in volunteering for The Swan Song Project.

Molly Cassidy and Adam Smith wrote this article about SBG's super support to date. Here's a short extract about their first contact with the charity:


"After meeting Ben via Zoom, we were completely inspired by his compassion, positivity and passion for music! We were keen to get involved."
 
Click to register for the Swan Song Singing Group
Fundraising Update
We rely on donations, large and small, to keep providing our unique songwriting service free of charge. We couldn't do what we do without you!

Your support enables us to be there for people during their toughest times and to continue our work: celebrating lives, making memories and leaving legacies.


These lyrics are from a Swan Song called 'Ormi' by David and Bev Harnett, which was written and recorded very recently with support from our team:

"We wed at Christmas time,
Wedding bells, mistletoe and wine,
We've had some fun,
Husband and wife,
We've raised a family,
I've loved our life."

If you are able to support us this festive season, or in future, our Fundraising Manager Gemma Cross would love to hear from you. Please email gemmacross@swansongproject.co.uk.

Click to make a donation this December
Click to visit the Support Us section of our website
Charlotte's Story
Last year, Charlotte Newell contacted us after her dad, Eddie, died suddenly. Thanks to the kindness of our supporters, we were able to help Charlotte to write and record 'Dear Eddie Newell' for free in time for Christmas.

This was important as Charlotte's dad had started a family tradition of sharing a new skill on Christmas Day. The finished song enabled Charlotte to keep this tradition going. She said:

"Ben and Lisa were absolutely amazing in helping me get the song ready in two weeks so that I could show my family the song on Christmas Day, I cannot thank them enough.

"The countdown to Christmas Day was incredibly hard as we just didn’t want to celebrate it...but I had the chance to countdown to showing my family this song, which got me through the first Christmas without him."


You can read Charlotte's story in full here.
Make a Difference This Christmas
Give the gift of song by supporting us this festive season. Here are some ideas which we ho-ho-hope are of interest:
  • Have a Christmas jumper or festive fancy dress day
  • Host a Christmas quiz, with a musical round 
  • Buy a Swan Song T-shirt as a stocking filler
  • Donate instead of sending Christmas cards
  • Donate some of your Secret Santa or Christmas party budget or nominate us as your next charity partner at work
We Need Your Help to Win £1,000!
There's still time to nominate The Swan Song Project in Ecclesiastical's 12 Days of Giving. Please complete the short online form. Our registered charity number is 1178096. It's so quick and simple!


The draws will take place each weekday from 6th to 21st December. The more nominations we get, the more chance we have of winning!
Click to listen to the latest Swan Songs on our website
Swan Song Podcast with Larry Love (Alabama 3)
In this episode, Ben catches up with Larry Love, frontman of the Alabama 3 at his studio in Brixton. Larry's choice of song that is meaningful to him in some way relating to bereavement is 'My Dying Bed' by Clifford Slapper and Robert Love.
Click to access all episodes of the Swan Song songwriting and bereavement podcast
Thank you for reading this and supporting The Swan Song Project. Please follow us on social media for all the latest updates.

"May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung"
- Bob Dylan

Kind regards,

Ben Buddy Slack
Founder and Creative Director
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Copyright © 2021 The Swan Song Project, All rights reserved.


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