Together for Cinema is an AV industry good cause enterprise that designs and installs home cinema rooms in children’s hospices and other locations across the UK. These rooms not only benefit the children and young adults, but also their families, carers, staff and volunteers. Together for Cinema has comprehensive support and backing from the AV industry, with all products and installation services donated.
Penn Elcom is proud to be supporting Together for Cinema, and has so far donated products that have been used on two of their installations, with at least three more planned, creating high-quality and versatile audio-visual spaces for the residents, families and staff of these locations to enjoy.
The most recent project we were involved in was for the Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough, UK. In 1989, Harry and Gail Moore’s five-year-old daughter, Laura, sadly died after a battle with Leukaemia. Laura’s favourite thing in the world was a rainbow and her parents wanted to create something special in her memory – which is how Rainbows was born. Today, Rainbows supports over 300 children and young people living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Rainbows is dedicated to supporting every child and young person to fulfil their potential and help families make the most of every precious moment.
As with most charitable causes, there was no budget to install a luxury such as a Cinema Room. Therefore, and with all products donated and the installation services provided free of charge, this gift from the AV industry really has a huge impact - Had this been a normal paid-for installation the total cost, including consultation, design, installation, products and any other associated costs would have been in the region of £25,000.
One of many suppliers, Penn Elcom donated a full rack solution to help create a high-tech, fully integrated Cinema Room. Anne-Marie Rosak, Head of Nursing and Clinical Operations at Rainbows Children’s Hospice said:
“The new Cinema Room will provide the most incredible experience for our children, young people and their families at Rainbows. It really will be a fantastic addition to our wonderful facilities, and we can’t thank Together for Cinema enough for making this happen. For many of those who stay at our hospice, going to a cinema might not be a physical option, or they simply may not feel comfortable making that trip.”
The Rainbows Children’s Hospice installation was picked up by BBC East Midlands in May 2022
This was Together for Cinema’s 31st good cause cinema room installation and tipped them over the £700,000 mark of good cause installations, had they all been paid for. Founder of Together for Cinema, Ian Morrish said “We are getting ever closer to our ambitious target of installing a total of 50 cinema rooms by 2026, at a total retail cost, had they all been paid for in excess of £1m. With the collaborative support of our industry, we will undoubtedly achieve this, and I hope, a lot more…”
In August 2021, we also supported Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice, located in Carlisle, by supplying another full rack solution. Jigsaw was opened in 1991 and provides day-to-day care, support and activities to children and young people living with a life-limiting illness. Their vision is to provide care and support to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and those who require palliative care.
Our donation, along with those from other businesses, suppliers and installers, meant that Together for Cinema was able to create another successful media room.
Ian Morrish said:
“As the room was a dedicated facility we felt projection was suitable and we agreed on a fixed frame screen with in-ceiling speakers and all the associated AV equipment required such as a Blu-ray player, an AV Receiver, suitable control, a cabinet and lots of cables. We also specified ‘twinkly lights’ on the ceiling as this makes such a difference to the children and the feel of the room. I’m delighted to say that some old favourites stepped up again to help, and we had some new companies donate. Thank you all for helping make this happen…”
So far, we have donated the following equipment to Together for Cinema projects;
5 x R8500-20 20U Rack Enclosure
5 x R8450/20 20U Polycarbonate Door
30 x R1320/1UK Lacing Bars
5 x PCT110 Cable Tray
5 x R1498/2UK-ATV1 Apple TV Shelf
15 x C2-R1194/2UK-400 Equipment Shelf
Penn Elcom feels that Together for Cinema is a fantastic charitable cause, and we will continue to support where we can in the future.
