A CHOIR which helps isolated people through music has been able to continue its work during lockdown thanks to donations from generous IT organisations.

The Choir With No Name, which is run in partnership with Brighton Housing Trust, normally meets every Monday at One Church in Gloucester Place, Brighton, for a rehearsal.

The choir provides a support network for homeless and marginalised people and each singing rehearsal is followed by a hot meal, cooked by volunteers.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the choir has had to seek other ways of connecting members safely so they can still practise and enjoy making music together remotely.

But many of the choir’s members did not have access to the technology needed to take part in virtual rehearsals.

That was until cross-sector partnership Digital Brighton and Hove and IT Services and Solutions company Cancom donated internet dongles, SIM cards and tablets, so the choir’s members could get online.

Asta Sabaliauskaite, digital inclusion manager for the Choir With No Name Brighton, said: “We are extremely grateful to Cancom and Digital Brighton and Hove for their generous donation and for helping to get our members online during these challenging times.

“It breaks our hearts not being able to meet and see each other each week and these donations for some of our members mean the world, as they will be able to rejoin our choir family and stay connected with staff, volunteers and each other.”

Choir with No Name Brighton member Aldo received a tablet and has since been able to get online, and is now regularly joining virtual rehearsals.

He said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who’s helped do this for me, it means so much – it means the world.

“Not many people would ever do anything like this for me.

“Thank you, and not just one thank you but millions and trillions of thank yous.”

Martin Hess, managing director at Cancom UK said: “Homelessness is a major problem all over the UK, and in particular on our doorstep in Brighton.

“We are delighted to help Brighton Housing Trust, who do such a fantastic job.

“The Choir With No Name was such a creative idea at such a difficult time.”

The Choir with No Name is a national charity which has been running choirs for people who have experienced homelessness and marginalisation for the past 11 years.

Their aim is to enable members to make friends and to build their confidence and skills in a safe, positive and supportive environment in which they can sing away their worries and have fun.

Last year, 81 per cent of members said their mental health had improved since joining the choir, and 82 per cent said it had helped them achieve at least one positive change in their lives.

The charity has choirs in Birmingham, Liverpool and London, and its Brighton choir, which is proving a big hit, was launched in 2018.