Hayley was an enthusiastic and dedicated colleague who worked for Youth Music for several years. Her bubbly and caring character meant she quickly made and kept strong relationships with staff, grant holders and young people. In the Music Education Development Team she managed two national programmes for young people: a volunteering programme called Voltage, and a national scheme of music based mentoring called Youth Music Mentors. Hayley always kept the young people at the centre of her work, and worked closely with the national Youth Music Council - supporting young people to have their say. While at Youth Music, she was one of the many members of staff who faced their fears and transformed their commute by getting on two wheels. A cycle with Hayley was punctuated with lighthearted shouts for 'Gregory Green Light' to be on your side. Hayley was a committed karaoke-er and her passionate rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart was often the first song of the night. Even when she became very ill, when the Sing Star microphone came out, her competitive edge in this discipline was unrelenting. Hayley was taken ill -pretty much out of the blue- in 2012. She battled with cancer for 13 months before passing away on the 2 May 2013. During this time, the non-medical care she received from her Macmillan nurse and other support services improved her quality of life and galvanised her determination to fight for life. Hayley would have been celebrating her 30th birthday on 27th March 2014. To celebrate her life, we will be gathering on Sunday 30th March for a 'cycle-oke challenge'. We will cycle 30 miles from her home in Shalford, Surrey into Central London (ok, it's more like 47). We will then sing 30 songs at karaoke (at least!). We'll be securing sponsorship for Youth Music to support music making opportunities with children in hospital, children who find themselves in very scary and unexpected parts of their lives, as Hayley did. Hayley was dangerously good fun and is dearly missed by all who knew her. We hope this cycle-oke event and the money raised will bring about many more smiles and good memories in her name. If you'd like to be involved, to cycle, or to sing, or both, or simply to sponsor us, please click 'Sponsor the Cycle-Oke' above.