Birmingham Hippodrome has raised a record-breaking £32,000 with Gift Aid as part of The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022, a match funding campaign that doubled all online donations between Tuesday 29 November and Tuesday 6 December.

An ambitious target of £30,000 was set to help enrich the lives of 5,000 disadvantaged young people through theatre. The target was beaten with over 24 hours to go and an additional £2,300 was raised; this will enable the venue to provide even more young people with a year of creativity in 2023.

 

The donations raised will enable the Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) to lead weekly workshops in schools throughout the academic year and help support the next generation of artists, producers and directors by offering career development paths. The funding will also enable young people from areas of low-social economic engagement to see a world-class production at the theatre for the first time, experience backstage tours and performance at festivals and events on the Hippodrome stages.

Judith Greenburgh, Head of Fundraising and Development at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “Thank you to everyone who has donated to our festive fundraiser and helped us raise our largest amount to date. Your money will introduce over 5,000 young people to a wide range of transformative opportunities and give them unforgettable experiences, including seeing a show on our stage for the first time.

“We’re incredibly grateful for everyone’s generosity and look forward to continuing our important work with young people across the West Midlands next year.” For more information about Birmingham Hippodrome’s HEN network, visit: Birmingham Hippodrome website.