Options for Life is a local charity in Oldbury, West Midlands supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism. We provide a range of community-based workshops and skills sessions from our community hubs within Sandwell for them. We focus on social inclusion, personal development, increasing choice preferences, and developing communication and social skills. We support people to live their lives to the full and advance their personal development, build confidence, and enabling them to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled people.

Music is the passion of our participants. The funding will help purchase musical accessories such as an analogue audio mixer, loudspeaker, microphone, headphones, multicore, portable stage, stage lights, control board and cables. In addition, we have iPads and musical instruments which our participants use in their music sessions. The funding will also support hiring a music trainer and musicians to join the sharing sessions for a year. The participants will be engaged in practice workshops with our music tutor every week at the Ocker Hill venue of Options for Life. There will also be four hours of music sessions every month by an expert professional musician. Each of the sessions will demonstrate new styles and instrumentation. Our participants will collaborate with the musician and staff to perform in our existing choir. In addition, they will have an insight into the styles and cultural backgrounds of their music. Moreover, our radio shows will feature the interviews of our participants about their experience of music.