Singing to boost the soul
Kent Soul Choirs has been nominated for the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards for their work providing an inclusive community full of support and friendship across Kent and London. What is unusual with this initiative is that the choir requires no auditions to join. Neive Wright from the awards team investigated.
Kent Soul Choirs, founded by Abi Gilchrist and her husband Ross Power in 2010, is an inclusive, mental health-focused singing network across Kent and Southeast London.
This professionally-led choir requires no auditions or music-reading skills—just a love of singing and having fun.
Kent Soul Choirs is much more than just a choir. The group is dedicated to promoting well-being and positive mental health by fostering lifelong friendships and providing a supportive community. Members describe their local Kent Soul Choir as a safe space, helping them navigate the challenges of everyday life, including bereavement, serious illness, and injury.
The choir brings not only joy and companionship to its singers but also delight to audiences across the county. Due to this, and an emphasis on affordability, Kent Soul Choirs has grown to include an impressive 500 members, connecting individuals across Kent and London through the power of music.
Charli, a member of Soul Choirs, expressed their gratitude for this service, saying, “I joined the choir during lockdown following a period of high anxiety, and while I was in therapy. Singing online every week, being led by such an amazing leader, helped me find my way to myself.”
A key element of Kent Soul Choirs’ performances is the charity collections held at every event, supporting causes like MIND and, most recently, Papyrus, following the tragic loss of a member’s son to suicide. The choir also actively encourages men to join, championing male mental health through singing and camaraderie with like-minded individuals.
Also, the initiative HomeSing, initially launched during the COVID lockdowns, continues to provide an accessible option for those unable to attend a Kent Soul Choir location in person due to anxiety or physical disability.
Overall, Kent Soul Choir is an organisation that provide a service of inclusivity and positivity—truly deserving of their many nominations for The Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards.
To find out more about Kent Soul Choirs visit https://www.soulchoirs.com
The Kent Mental Wellbeing awards is an annual event designed to showcase the people, organisations and initiatives that help us cope with life. The event’s three themes are: kindness and compassion; wellbeing; mental health.
Whether it is in school, business, community or family, so many of us have been lucky to have people and organisations with ideas, tips and tactics to help us cope. It is time to celebrate those mental health and well-being champions in our community and share this best practice.
The awards will be staged in October by the mental health charity Mind in Bexley and East Kent in collaboration with a range of wellbeing and mental health organisations.
Nominations can be linked to a simple act of kindness that lifted the spirits, a business that has improved staff wellbeing, through to a targeted initiative delivered by a charity or statutory organisation to support a mental health issue.
The event is sponsored by Kent County Council, Kent Community Foundation, ADM Computing, GrainLNG – National Grid, Medway Council, Optyma Security, Wave Community Bank, Cactus Graphics and CommunityAid.
Submit nominations at www.kentmentalwellbeingawards.org.uk
For awards news follow @KentMWAwards on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
