Support Upper Norwood Library Hub's amazing work

Help Palace Acappella choir raise £5,000 for Upper Norwood Library Trust by Christmas 2024!

We have two fantastic challenges this autumn - please show your support and sponsor them both here! 

'CHARIOTS OF CHOIR' CHALLENGE - starting on 18th September, members of the choir are taking part in a big team exercise challenge to run, walk, cycle and swim as many km as we can in one month. As part of the challenge we'll be at ParkRun Crystal Palace every week. Look out for updates on the Palace Acappella social media channels to see how they are doing!

JENNY'S 10KM RUN CHALLENGE - Jenny Irish, Upper Norwood Library Trust Director will be running the Victoria Park 10km on Sunday 10th November

"I’ve started my training and this is a picture of me at Crystal Palace Sport Centre showing how red my face goes when I try and run further than 400m! All I can say is 10km seems a very long way but I am determined to get there as our community library hub is an absolute gem of an organisation and one I am incredibly proud to be part of! There are so many impactful learning, wellbeing and arts activities every day for local communities with the beating heart of the library underpinning everything we do – so if you can sponsor me to run the furthest I’ve ever run in my life for this amazing cause I’d be very grateful! (Please put a mention you are sponsoring me in your comment so we can find out how much I’ve raised as part of the overall campaign)"

Our fundraising journey

We are raising money all year through different challenges and activities: running, busking, bake sales, raffles and prize draws - and even selling an album!

It's been an amazing fundraising journey so far: 

• In August, choir leader Eleanor Rastall and co-founder Laura Stevens completed a 25km walking challenge in 5 hours (in the pouring rain!)
• In July, we went busking at Crystal Palace Market and livestreamed online, and held a raffle and bake sale at our summer concert.
• In June, the choir completed a ParkRun team challenge in Crystal Palace park (11 x 5km in an hour).

And have more planned before Christmas...

• We will be running a prize draw in Crystal Palace for Christmas time.
• Local band The Rusty Laptops, who are part of our choir, will be donating proceeds from their sale of their EP, 'The Chain'.

Please support us in all this by donating here.

What's it all about?

Upper Norwood Library Hub (UNLH) is a really important community space in Crystal Palace that runs services and programmes to help tackle poverty, isolation and inequality in the area. 

Palace Acappella choir is celebrating its fifth birthday - and five years of singing at UNLH - this year, and we want to make sure the Hub has what it needs to keep making a difference.

How UNLH makes a difference 

Upper Norwood Library Hub runs learning, well-being and arts programmes for adults and children.

These activities provide opportunities to learn skills and be creative, support with loneliness and isolation, it helps children fulfil their potential, encourages healthy and independent lives, and is a 'warm space’ in the winter. 

The Hub's current projects include free English and Maths support for children age 5-8, an energy outreach project offering free 1-to-1 sessions, a series of free exercise classes for older adults, speaking English classes for adults, and skills-based holiday activities for children. You can find out more about all this here.

It's also a venue for classes and groups such as baby sensory, sing & sign, dance, yoga, T'ai Chi, life drawing, ballet and performing arts, and our community choir. Find out more about what's on at the Hub every week here.

All of this activity enriches the lives of people in the local area. 

How is this having an impact?

Over 58,000 people live in the Norwood, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood areas, and last year there were over 200,000 individual visits made to the library and wider community hub services.

It costs £270,000 a year to keep everything going through grant funding and donations. 

In 2023, Upper Norwood Library Hub:

• helped over 2,300 people through charitable programmes,
• gave 586 free places to children on its holiday camp activities,
• provided 99 people with cost of living management support,
• ran wellbeing and arts classes that 300 people attended weekly
• gave energy advice to 442 consumers,
• and provided over 600 ‘warm spaces’ in winter.

The Hub relies on the kindness of its volunteers, supporters, and the local community to keep doing it's fantastic work.

How you can help

Please help by donating to our fundraiser for Upper Norwood Library Trust, the charity behind the Hub.

Your donation could make a real difference:

• £10 could help provide refreshments for sessions which tackle isolation and loneliness, like exercise classes for over 60s.
• £30 might support skills sessions like Digital Inclusion and English-speaking classes.
• £100 could help with running costs for the building and all the facilities it provides to visitors.

What the community says:

"The Hub does so much to help and support people in this community, particularly the creative activities that aren't always available locally, and the Crystal Palace area is so much richer for the services and opportunities it provides." Eleanor Rastall, leader of Palace Acappella 

“Social networking is difficult when you don’t speak English - now it’s getting better... I can speak to my son’s teachers now, which makes me feel happy.” Gorkhan, speaking English student

"Through volunteering with UNLH, I’ve supported scores of newcomers to the UK (and to Crystal Palace!), helping them learn English and so feel more at home here." ESOL Volunteer

"The camps help children to learn new skills in visual and performing arts, make new friends and learn about healthy eating.” Boris Witzenfeld, camps facilitator 

Why this matters to Palace Acappella choir

Five years at UNLH, £5,000 to fundraise!

Palace Acappella choir in Crystal Palace is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. We are a community choir based at the Upper Norwood Library Hub and we’ve been there since day one. It’s not just a place we rehearse at - it’s our home.

The Hub's staff are incredibly supportive, which has been crucial to helping our choir survive through the pandemic and continue thriving today. It's not just a space for our rehearsals, it's a creative and social hub for our members and that means a lot to us.

We are eternally grateful for their help and support. So, in our fifth birthday year, we want to show our support by fundraising £5,000 in our fifth birthday year for Upper Norwood Library Trust. 

Palace Acappella will be fundraising throughout 2024 through our performances and some extra activities. The money we raise will help the Library Hub deliver its vital programme of services for the local community.

Hear more about why this matters to us from choir leader Eleanor Rastall:

You can help by:

• Donating to this fundraising page
• Sharing our posts on Facebook, X and Instagram with your followers
• Fundraising – you could run a bake sale, an event or a sponsored challenge and donate to this page.
• Spreading the word in your community when you are out and about.

If you'd like to get involved with fundraising, please contact Palace Acappella choir: [email protected].

You can find out more about the Upper Norwood Library Trust here, and on the Upper Norwood Library Hub's website.