Sofia’s Story

Meet Sofia…

Sofia is a volunteer for the Include Choir, and helps with a bit of everything! She says “My favourite song is I’m a Believer because I love signing it, and it’s one that makes everyone really happy and gets us dancing!”

“Before lockdown, I supported members during choir rehearsals and meetings, helped record videos of songs and the Makaton ‘Sign of the Week’, gathered members’ news for the newsletter, and helped with refreshments!” Says Sofia… “And now I do lots of other things to support the choir online”.

Sofia’s Include Story

Sofia who is a college student, joined the choir a few years ago when she needed volunteering hours to complete her Duke of Edinburgh award. She chose the Include Choir as she thought it would be fun and rewarding, and hoped she could continue volunteering after completing the award.

“I don’t consider myself a singer, but I enjoy singing with the Include Choir as I like the feeling of inclusion and unity that singing together can give to members. When the volunteers like me and support workers sing with the choir members, it makes everyone feel equal and together” says Sofia.

Since joining the choir, Sofia has learnt some Makaton signing, and plans to complete her Level 1 training as soon as possible.

Why is the Include Choir Special to Sofia?

Before joining the Include Choir, Sofia felt she knew about learning disabilities, but feels now she has a much better understanding of them.

“I feel the choir has helped me to gain more well-rounded knowledge about disability and how it can affect people, which has been really interesting.

The Include Choir is pretty cool, as everyone is involved and no-one gets left out.

The people make the Include Choir so special. The members, volunteers, Alix, and everyone are so amazing.”

Sofia says that meetings and rehearsals are different every time because of all the people in the choir which makes them exciting – “you don’t know what’s going to happen, it’s always a surprise!” But one thing you do know – there will be fun. ‘Our choir members are our biggest fans – they sing and dance and they love the choir so much.’

One of Sofia’s favourite moments with the Include Choir is when she was nominated to receive an award of recognition for the choir from the local Mayor. The event was very posh, but she had a lot of fun!

How Sofia stepped up in lockdown

Since lockdown, Sofia has been meeting up with the choir online regularly and organising things behind the scenes.

“I attend the Facebook Lives on Wednesdays, Zoom meetings on Fridays and Saturdays, and I’ve been working on various online projects for Include, such as the Black Lives Matter project. I have also helped create a monthly Include Choir magazine, which is being sent to choir members who have trouble accessing online information, to keep them in the loop and help them feel more connected” She says.

Final Word from Sofia

“People should join the choir to gain a better understanding of other people, and to see that people with disabilities are not that different. The choir and the people in it are awesome!

I really enjoy it and couldn’t ask for anything better. Being a part of the choir has been really cool so far, and I would love to help it grow as it continues. I hope our Big Give fundraiser in December can help us keep going for years to come”.