Everyone on team Gelder is getting excited as they prepare to release the Group’s colourful heart to join a Love Lincolnshire-themed summertime charity fundraiser. Gelder’s special heart sculpture – painted by well-known Lincoln artist Mel Langton – is currently welcoming visitors to its Sturton-by-Stow headquarters but is about to join the St Barnabas HeART Trail.
The countdown to the launch on June 10 is well underway. Then the heart will take pride of place in Gainsborough’s Marshalls Yard, where it will form part of the main trail, which includes 27 other sculptures. The project also features three further points of interest along the trail and schoolchildren have handmade 19 mini heart sculptures which make-up the Young at HeART Trail and will go on show in Lincoln’s Waterside Shopping Centre.
Gelder CEO Steve Gelder said:
We had great fun taking part in Lincoln BIG’s Knights Trail. We think these sculpture trails are an excellent way of supporting charity. They are enjoyed by local families and visitors alike and they are a great way of getting our name out there whilst supporting a charity which does such fantastic work locally.
Two dozen businesses and organisations across Lincolnshire, including Gelder, are part of the HeART Trail either as a Presenting Partner or Sponsor. Some of the heart-shaped sculptures will be up for auction after the Trail ends on September 4, with an aim to raise further funds for St Barnabas.
St Barnabas Hospice Chief Executive Chris Wheway said:
Twenty sculptures will be based in Lincoln, with five more in Skegness and along the East Coast, and another five in towns where St Barnabas has a Wellbeing Centre – Louth, Boston, Grantham, Spalding, and Gainsborough.
Handy HeART Trail guides will include a special scratch-off map and information about each sculpture and its artist. Blank miniature pottery hearts will also be available for people of all ages to decorate with their own designs after taking inspiration from the Trail.
These items can be purchased from St Barnabas charity shops, Lincoln’s Visitor Information Centre, and the Trail’s HeART Hubs, which will be hosted across the county this summer and are listed online at: www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/heart-hubs
