Paraorchestra is the world's only orchestra that integrates professional disabled musicians in its ranks. The ensemble performs spellbinding contemporary orchestral events to audiences in the UK and across the world, breaking down barriers for talented disabled performers and ensuring that audiences and venues can see for themselves that disability is no barrier to talent.

Every arts charity has been counting the cost of the Covid-19 crisis and Paraorchestra is of no exception. Our events programme and our major new projects are all now postponed into 2021. Our aim is for Paraorchestra to sustain itself through this period, and to be able to rebound at full strength.

Part and parcel of our plan is to maintain the financial strength and well-being of the disabled musicians we work with, all of whom are self-employed. We are focussing our time to support this group of artists as the implications of the current lockdown are of grave concern. There is fear about their health of course, worry about new or changed living arrangements, and a real and genuine concern about the availability of additional financial support that can be accessed.

A number of emergency funds for musicians have been set up in record speed that have distributed funds to hundreds of musicians, artists and industry practitioners. However, in many cases our musicians have fallen foul of the application guidelines, or due to access requirements are unable to apply in time before the fund is used up. We also recognise that this is becoming a long-term crisis that will require many interventions to resolve.

Our mission is to remove all existing barriers faced by professional disabled musicians and to ensure that they have the support and opportunity to perform at the highest level. Our target is to raise £20,000, ideally in order for the fund to offer support for the next six months. By reallocating funds raised to date, and with the addition of a grant from The Mark Leonard Trust, we have set up a Fighting Fund. We will not require a hefty application process and we will aim to release funds rapidly, targeted first to those that are most in need. Help us to raise the final £5,000 to reach our £20,000 target.

Please help us by donating what you can to support this Fighting Fund. Every pound raised will go to the musicians we work with. Ultimately, as this crisis unfolds, we are adamant that we will not let any of the musicians we work with fall behind.