Local housebuilder Barratt David Wilson North Thames has raised over £87,000 for Hertfordshire charity Electric Umbrella over the last 12 months, to support its work in delivering live and interactive music experiences for learning disabled people.

Electric Umbrella, chosen charity of the year for the housebuilder’s North Thames division, celebrates difference and inspires community connection by empowering learning disabled and neurodivergent people of all abilities.

Over the past year, Barratt David Wilson North Thames has supported the charity with several fundraising activities including its annual Charity Gala Dinner, which involved performances from Electric Umbrella and an auction. The housebuilder has also announced that Electric Umbrella will be its charity partner for the second year in a row for 2025-2026, with upcoming fundraising events including a golf day in May.

The total amount raised over the past year will support Electric Umbrella’s education programme which reaches over 40,000 students and teachers annually, visiting over 150 mainstream primary schools to date, alongside SEND schools across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and North London. These sessions deliver performances led by their learning disabled members and professional musicians.

Mel Boda, Electric Umbrella CEO, commented: “It has been fantastic to have been Barratt David Wilson Homes North Thames’ charity of the year and to be selected again. The support we have received has been incredible, with an amazing £87,370 raised in total.

“To receive such long-term support is so important for our charity, enabling us to maintain and expand our educational programmes, as well as raise awareness and provide future opportunities for all our current members. What we have been able to achieve in a year has been helped by the housebuilder’s support, so we are really looking forward to the year ahead with the North Thames team again. We are especially proud of our recent success in getting through to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent and are very grateful for all the amazing support we have received so far! Our members have worked extremely hard in the build up to BGT, so make sure to vote for us on Saturday 10th May, we can’t wait for everyone to see our talented team once again on stage.”

Marc Woolfe, Sales and Marketing Director at Barratt David Wilson North Thames, adds: “Supporting Electric Umbrella this past year has been a privilege, and we are proud to have raised just over £87,000. Electric Umbrella is an important charity and the work they do to support learning disabled and neurodivergent people through creativity and connection is inspiring. We are especially moved by the way they reshape the way communities view inclusion and diversity, which is why we have proudly chosen them as our charity of the year again! The division is excited to get involved in several activities to start raising more money for the charity, hopefully raising even more than what we have just achieved.”

To support Electric Umbrella get through to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent make sure to tune in to ITV on Saturday 10th May at 19.00pm, where voting will open at the end of show. To register to vote, visit itv.com/vote.

If a you have a learning disabled family member or friend, who may be interested in joining Electric Umbrella, or you would be interested in learning more about Electric Umbrella’s performances and workshops for schools or corporate performances and training programmes, more information is available at https://www.electricumbrella.org.uk