MagicVan: Free pianos for worthy homes
September 13, 2017
Several people contacted us wanting to donate unused pianos - so we found new and worthy homes and transported them to them for free. It was a win-win for everyone, so we teamed up with our friends at Preloved and decided to do as many as possible - as shown in the video below.
If you want to get involved and donate your piano, we currently only accept pianos in good condition within London. A community centre, school, or charity must be lined up to take the piano on.
Here are some donations from the past few years.
Winchmore School
Winchmore School, a secondary school in North London with over 1,200 students, had a broken piano in their main hall and no fully functioning piano in their music block. As a result, a new piano was necessary, with compulsory music lessons lasting the first three years of secondary education.
"We think it's fantastic that it will be going to a school to help children learn how to play. The piano was kindly given to us by a neighbour whose children used to play but have since grown up and left home, so the piano was no longer in use. Our daughter started to learn to play the piano a couple of years ago, and this piano was great when she was a complete beginner, but we are now wanting to 'upgrade', hence why we want to give this piano to a new home and hope others can benefit from it as we have." - Mrs J Smith, Pianos original owner
Pemberly Academy
The Assistant Head of Pemberly Academy had heard about how our Magic Van piano project had helped another local school in the area brighten up the music department and got in touch. Unfortunately, she told us that the school opened only in 2015 and that they were still building up their resources. Therefore, a piano wasn't currently on the board's shopping list, which would be a blessing for the school.
"Just wanted to thank you for organising a piano donation for our school yesterday; it's fabulous and much appreciated. Thanks to the guys who delivered it, too; they did a great job - thanks again!" - Lisa Fish, Teacher
Ashmole Academy
Ashmole Academy is a newly opened primary school in Southgate, North London. We were put in touch with the head of the music department, who were thrilled at the opportunity to receive a free piano.
"The piano previously lived in a church in Watford. When the church was forced to close, they let our children have it so that they could learn how to play. They have now grown up and left the nest, so we wanted to continue the tradition and donate it so that young children can grow up learning how to play the piano. We hope the children enjoy it as much as mine did." - Bob, previous piano owner.
Ryelands Residential Care Home
The dementia wing of the Ryelands/Brooklands residential care home in Beddington Gardens had been offered an upright piano for or on behalf of the residents. Still, they needed a way of transporting it from Kenley to Wallington.
The management team believed that the piano would benefit the residents' well-being by having a piano for music therapy, music events, in-house church services and general entertainment - this was when Mr Webb contacted the MagicVan team here at AnyVan.
We picked up the piano and delivered it to the Ryelands residential care home in May to the awaiting residents. We hope the new arrival was music to their ears!
How to get in touch
To summon the Magic Van, reach out to your nominations beforehand, contact us to let us know what you need assistance with, and Hashtag #MagicVanMoves. We are taking requests at magicvan@anyvan.com.
But again, if you are looking to donate your piano, we are currently only accepting pianos in good condition within London. A community centre, school, or charity must be lined up to take the piano. We would be unable to source a new home for your piano.