There’s a lot to be grateful for about life in Sunderland. Spending time on our amazing coastline; the celebration of 
our heritage; being part of a community of friendly, caring, funny people; easy access to the amazing things the rest of the region has to offer. At Tiny Tweeties we deliver music sessions in schools, and also train education professionals to effectively use music in their work. This has taken us all over the country and allowed us to get snapshots of life in lots of different places. At the end of the day however, we’ve always been eager to get back to the relatively relaxed pace of life on Wearside delivering our community music sessions for the families that live here.
We both grew up in Sunderland and we are now raising our own family here. We started our business in 2010. Through all the challenges we have faced since we have had the most amazing support from our customers, the brilliant venues at which we run public sessions and other organisations that we work alongside locally. Pretty much everyone that we have come into contact with has helped us along in some way. Sunderland is undoubtedly an enterprising place and a friendly environment to grow: we have some fantastic and unique independent businesses here. Some are just starting out, and others have been ticking along for decades, slowly becoming part of the fabric of the city. It gives the place a wonderful energy and makes it quite unlike anywhere else.
Like most places, Wearside also has its problems. Social and economic issues are making life hard for many here (as well as elsewhere in the UK), and whilst things are moving in the city centre now, a lack of development in previous years has caused sustainability issues for businesses there. For some people life can be desperately tough on a day-to-day basis. We often speak to families at our sessions and at schools who are facing hardship for a huge variety of unavoidable reasons.
This is where campaigns such as the bid for City of Culture become invaluable as a force for change. Aside from the positivity gained from the push itself, if Sunderland was to win, the Investment will not only create jobs and prosperity on a long-term basis, but will also allow the amazing creative potential of Sunderland to expand and flourish, shaking away negative perceptions from outside with a huge wave of energy and vibrant activity. You only need to take a look at the benefits that the project has had for Derry-Londonderry since 2013, and the impact it is already having on Hull in 2017, its year as City of Culture.
At Tiny Tweeties we feel so privileged to provide a service for children and their parents / carers in the early years of life, encouraging in them a shared interest in music and arts. Participating in cultural experiences is of huge benefit to all members of our society, and we believe that the City of Culture title would be truly amazing for Sunderland, and has the potential to positively transform the lives of so many people already living here and the generations to come. The organisers of the bid have created a fantastic, compelling case and we’d like to lend it our full support.
— Rachael & Chris Hair, Tiny Tweeties
