Following the success of last year’s inaugural Oxjam Darlo, Darlington Building Society has become a sponsor of the fundraising music festival after making a donation from its community fund.
On October 25, the live music festival will descend upon Darlington once again, taking over venues across the town and inviting music lovers of all genres through the doors of a wide range of locations.
The one day festival raised an astonishing £8,000 last year and intends to build on its achievements with the help of the Darlington Building Society community fund. The Society’s donation will go some of the way towards meeting Oxjam Darlo’s initial target of raising £1000 by September in order to submit its application to Oxfam.
The event aims to raise much-needed funds for Oxfam to help relieve poverty and suffering across the world including parts of the UK, Syria and Yemen.
Darlington Building Society became involved in the project after being approached internally by a member of its own IT team, Jonny Lancaster. Jonny, who is an accomplished artist, is also tirelessly raising funds for Oxjam Darlo outside of the workplace by taking part in the Great North Run and also creating ‘pixel portraits’ to thank those who have donated to the Just Giving page.
Jonny said: “As well as working in IT for Darlington Building Society, I’m a big supporter of the arts in Darlington and always try to get behind anything cultural happening in the town.
“We’re very grateful for the support that the Society is giving Oxjam Darlo. The money that has been donated will go towards promoting the event across the town and will be a great help in the run up to the event.
“Although last year’s total of £8000 was exceptional, we hope that we can beat it this year. Oxfam do amazing work all across the world and events like this are a great way to make people aware of their activities in a fun and family friendly way. We hope that more people will volunteer and more venues will offer their space so that the festival can continue to grow year on year.”
Colin Fyfe, Chief Executive of Darlington Building Society, said: “We’re more than pleased to be able to provide Oxjam Darlo with our support. The Society is always happy to provide assistance to local causes and we’re exceptionally proud of the fact that our staff take the initiative to approach us with new community projects.
“Oxjam Darlo is organised by local people with local bands and musicians playing at local venues – it’s a great way to bring members of the community together with a common aim and purpose.”
Oxjam Darlo takes over the town on October 25. Wristbands will be available from the Oxjam Darlo Facebook page soon and are priced at £8.00 each. The wristband allows the wearer to come and go as they please at all the participating venues.