Fundraisers from The Donna Louise Hospice for Children & Young People  will be popping up at Trentham Gardens this week to tell the story behind the breathtaking ‘Taking Flight’ butterflies installation.

Taking Flight contains 5,000 specially crafted ceramic butterflies which are being sold to raise funds for the hospice.

“Almost 2,000 butterflies have been sold so far, raising over £50,000 to support the children, young people and families who rely on The Donna Louise, and we are hoping to sell many more during the busy school holiday period,” said Nathan Walton, Director of Income Generation & Marketing at The Donna Louise.

One major benefit of buying a butterfly is that purchasers get a free visit to Trentham Gardens, worth £12. The vibrant blue butterflies have been crafted by two major names in the ceramics industry, Wade Ceramics and Johnson Tiles and the  whole project was supported by more than forty companies from Staffordshire and South Cheshire.

Every penny raised from sales goes to support the hospice.

Fundraising staff from The Donna Louise will be at Trentham Estate on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (12-14 August) with a pop up shop. This will be located near to the entrance to Trentham Gardens, close to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill store.

Nathan continues, “We will be meeting shoppers, telling them the story of the making of the butterflies and explaining why this fundraising campaign is so vital,” “The Taking Flight installation is the culmination of two years of planning by staff at The Donna Louise and a dedicated group of people from the business community, who have worked hard to bolster our fundraising efforts.

“Children’s hospices get less than 9% of funds from the Government, via the NHS, and rely on fundraising for the remainder of their costs. The Donna Louise, therefore. relies hugely on donations from the local community,   and projects, such as The Butterflies, are vital to making our services sustainable.

“We hope to sell all 5,000 ceramic butterflies by the time the installation is taken down in November. Each butterfly will then be carefully packed away and prepared for distribution, ready to fly to their new owners.”

To buy a butterfly, please go online to www.thebutterflies.org.uk, each purchase includes one free day admission pass to Trentham Gardens, to view “Taking Flight” from the 25 May to 3 November 2019.

The Donna Louise provides a lifeline to families across Staffordshire and South Cheshire who are facing every parent’s worst nightmare; the heart-breaking knowledge that they will almost certainly outlive their child. The hospice provides specialist care and support services for children and young adults, with life-limiting conditions due to illness or injury, from birth until no longer needed. Their services are free of charge, and they rely hugely on the support and generosity of the community to make this possible.

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Nigel Howle by telephone on 0776 2043436 or by email at [email protected].