Young fundraisers hope ‘skies’ the limit for charity cash

YOUTHS working with a citizenship scheme have raised their voices in the hope of raising money for young runaways and chronically ill children.

Teens on the National Citizenship Service scheme with Rotherham United Community Sport Trust (RUCST) released charity single Teary Skies last week.

Proceeds from sales will go to the charity Safe@Last, while those from the launch event will go to Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Unique, the Batten Disease Family Association and the Sheffield Children’s Hospital cancer ward.

The song — which features local artists Alex Moorhouse, August Cold, Daniel Horsham and more — was showcased at The Trades on Saturday, along with a music video directed by the group.

The night raised around £800, with hopes for an even bigger charity boost from online sales.

The young fundraisers were joined at the event by Deputy Mayor of Rotherham Cllr Eve Rose Keenan.

Every step of the process — from writing the song to marketing the launch events — has been led by the 15 youngsters on the NCS project.

Carole Foster, NCS project manager at RUCST, said: “We had a big sleep-out at the stadium in August, raising awareness of young runaways.

“We even invited some young people who had been homeless — I think that pulled on the kids’ heartstrings and they decided to write a charity single.”

The group recruited industry professionals like Parkgate-based mixing specialists Music Factory and MOBO award-winning Oliver Brian Productions.

Carole added: “The group found it difficult to pick one charity, as there were so many close to their hearts.

“They have done extremely well to do this all themselves. The Trades was absolutely packed on Saturday and they generated all the ticket sales.

“For them to do all that work — which was well beyond what we expected of them — was just fantastic.”

Teary Skies is available for pre-order on iTunes now, going live on December 9 — visit apple.co/2fyUt0h to buy it.