"Come together, get together, get the groove on - GET FUNKY!"
 | | A Funky Flamingo member is interviewed |
To celebrate CSV Make a Difference Day on Saturday 28th October, a group of volunteers got together to make a very funky film! The volunteers ranged from BBC cameramen and media students to dance teachers and sound engineers - all there to help the Funky Flamingo group record a CD and make a film. Funky Flamingo
 | | Get funky! |
Funky Flamingo, as part of the charity Inspire, is run by and for people with learning disabilities. The organisation holds up to three club nights a year at mainstream music venues. Funky Flamingo is a prime example of how the spirit of volunteering can empower people who are often isolated by mainstream society. Making a difference The film celebrates the musical talents of Funky Flamingo, and shows that volunteering and sharing your time with others really can make a difference.
 | | The band rehearse in the studio |
The film also captures the enthusiasm these young people have for their club and their determination not to be hemmed in by any misconceptions about their capabilities. With a little help... Back in September, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's CSV Action Desk Producer, Pam Mungroo, had an idea that she thought would make a difference...
 | | Amanda Kelleher from Inspire |
With the help of Funky Flamingo Project Co-ordinator Amanda Kelleher, students from Parkside and Long Road colleges, BBC staff, the Funky Flamingo steering group and many others, her idea was made possible! After only a month a storyboard for the film was created, a venue was found, food was offered, bongos were loaned, banners were made, lyrics were written and many people volunteered to help out on the big day... The Big Day!
 | | Media students learn camera skills |
On Saturday 28th October it was all hands on deck at the Meadows Centre. The Funky band were hard at work recording their track in the music studio, the dancers were learning a routine choreographed by Eden Dance, the Funky Flamingo banners were being put up, and of course, someone had to volunteer to make the tea! BBC staff were busy showing the media students what shots to get and how their cameras worked. The students helped to film interviews with members of Funky Flamingo and volunteers.
 | | Soundman Dougie in the studio with Chris |
After a quick break for lunch, and another cuppa or two, the band added the finishing touches to their track and the CD, hot from the studio, was played at highest volume to the eager ears outside! "It doesn't matter who you are - everyone can be a star! Everybody, move to the rhythm, everybody get funky!" After much cheering and whooping, it was time to get the band and dancers together to film the all-singing, all-dancing finale! World Premiere A BBC volunteer spent a day editing the hours of raw footage into a fun and very funky film - which had a very special premiere at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse cinema on Wednesday 8th November!
Funky Flamingo is run by the arts and health charity Inspire. Making the film was an inspirational experience... we hope you're inspired by what you see:
 Funky by name, funky by nature! >
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Get inspired... Find out more about the project and CSV Make a Difference Day: | 
