A SINGING group has raised more than £2,000 for local charities in recent months by performing concerts in care homes, WI meetings and at other venues.

Seasonal Singers has this month presented £2,100 to more than 35 local charities, including Cleveland Mountain Rescue, based in Great Ayton, and Middlesbrough Foodbank.

The group has raised more than £10,000 during the nine years it has been performing for Women's Institute groups, rotary clubs, luncheon groups and other organisations, mainly in the Cleveland and Stokesley area. It has donated the money from causes ranging from Stokesley Community Care Centre to local branches of ChildLine.

They perform about 30 concerts a year, singing for fun and raising funds for local organisations nominated by the group’s sixteen members.

Founder, Ken Day, said they perform songs from every decade since the 1920s, including music from West End Musicals, folk songs and humorous songs.

The group donate most of the income from their concerts to their nominated charities, boosted by sales of the group’s CD, recorded with the help of Middlesbrough College.

In addition to Cleveland Mountain Rescue, other organisations who have benefited from the Seasonal Singers’ work this year include Redcar Coast Watch, Cleveland Mountain Rescue, Streetwise Opera, Teesside West Rotary Club, Autism Matters, and the Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Network.

Anyone wanting to book the Seasonal Singers should contact Ken Day on 07887 824431.