HeART to Heart wows local community

Heart to Heart News News and Blog

St Catherine’s Hospice launched HeART to Heart, a brand new community art trail, two weeks ago and are thrilled that so many people have already been engaging with the trail! Now, with the summer holidays approaching, this free and engaging art event is perfect for families looking for something different to do this summer.

The art trail, headline sponsored by Thakeham, comprises of 26 beautiful heart sculptures designed by local artists and sponsored by local businesses, along with 11 smaller wire hearts designed by local schools and youth groups.

At the start of July, a team from St Catherine’s Hospice secretly moved each of the hearts into their new homes across Crawley, Horsham, Reigate and East Grinstead overnight, ready to wow the local community as they awoke the following morning. And wow them they did!

Sarah Clapp first noticed the hearts on her route to work. She told us: “I’m loving the HeART to Heart trail! So far I’ve found hearts on my route to work in Crawley and in Tilgate Park. I love seeing them in the distance; the sun shining on them in all their glory is gorgeous.  The first heart I found was Doreen, looking beautiful in Crawley’s Memorial Gardens. Then I found Sunny Sussex on a glorious sunny morning and the Pumpkin whilst volunteering at Parkrun. This month is poignant for me as it’s the month I lost my Mum, who was cared for by St Catherine’s Hospice nine years ago. But the hospice’s beautiful hearts are bringing a smile to my face, and sharing them on social media is prompting questions from friends!”

Cameron Rowell, an employee at the Capitol Theatre in Horsham, came into work to find a heart in the foyer. He said, “It’s really lovely to have You Touched my Heart by Susan Tindall in our foyer as part of the HeART to Heart trail. You can really see how much effort and love has gone into her design. The heart’s in aid of a lovely charity and has a lovely story behind it too. I’d encourage everyone to get out on the HeART to Heart trail this summer to discover all of the amazing hearts. And I’m looking forward to welcoming people to the Capitol to tick off our heart.”

Paul Talmey, a long standing supporter of the hospice, has already ticked off a number of the hearts. He said, “I’ve been involved with St Catherine’s for some time now. So when I heard about the HeART To Heart trail I knew I had to get involved! It’s a fantastic idea and I’m loving working my way around the hearts. It’s clear how much time and effort people have invested in these beautiful creations. It’s also a great excuse to get out and about and to grab some freebies for yourself as well! My favourite heart so far is For The Love of Nature in the County Mall Shopping Centre. It’s a beautiful design with swans and was very popular with my friends when I photographed it and put it on my social media. If you haven’t started the trail yet, now’s a good time! It’s a fun, safe and eye catching way to support our local hospice.”

Terry Fay recently spent a day filming a promotional video of the hearts with his company Fay Films. He said: “The HeART to Heart trail is a brilliant initiative and it’s been great to see the local community getting involved and enjoying the hearts so much as I’ve been filming them. I’ve seen firsthand the difference St Catherine’s care makes to local people so I hope lots of you will support this amazing charity by hunting out their hearts this summer.”

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE HEART TRAIL

St Catherine’s has released an exclusive, free HeART to Heart app where you can discover all of the 26 heart sculptures, collect exclusive rewards, track your progress along the trail, vote for your favourite heart, and upload photos to share with your friends on social media. The app has already had nearly 600 downloads, and more than 1,500 hearts have been unlocked resulting in more than 1,200 rewards for people following the trail! The app is available from Apple and Android app stores so be sure to download it today and start collecting your hearts.

You can also pick up printed trail maps from St Catherine’s charity shops, in local shopping malls, libraries, cafes and museums across Surrey and Sussex to help you find your way around the trail.

Alongside the trail, St Catherine’s has also opened up a HeART to Heart Hub in County Mall Shopping Centre, Crawley. At their hub, you can get involved in family-friendly community activities from papercraft to plant pot decorating, and dancing to giant doodling. Check out the community event timetable to find out more about what’s on when. You can also buy exclusive heart trail merchandise to show your support.

RAISING MONEY

The HeART to Heart trail is raising vital funds for St Catherine’s Hospice and has already raised more than £100,000 for the local charity. This means that in the future more people in our community can receive the end of life care they need.

Currently, St Catherine’s can only care for one in three local people, but with the support of people like you, in the future the local charity wants to make sure no one has to face death and loss alone.

The majority of the trail’s support so far has been from local businesses sponsoring each  heart. But many other businesses have helped by providing a home for the hearts throughout the 10 week trail.

People can also donate along the trail, online or via the mobile phone app.

To raise even more money, following the end of the public trail, St Catherine’s is hosting a HeART to Heart Auction and Farewell Exhibition later in the year. The exhibition will offer the community an exclusive, one off chance to see all 26 hearts in the same place at the Effingham Park Hotel near Gatwick on 25 and 26 October 2019.

The Exhibition will also feature Secret HeART; an art sale with a twist! This will give people the chance to ‘follow their heart’ and choose a piece of postcard art, themed around a heart shape or image, from a display. But the twist is you’ll only discover the artist once you’ve made your purchase. That means you could end up with a piece of art created by a patient at St Catherine’s Hospice, a member of the public, a local artist or a celebrity!

If you haven’t yet spotted any hearts, there’s still plenty of time to get involved as the trail will be in place until mid September. If you’re not already, make sure you’re following HeART to Heart on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using @hearttrailuk to keep up to date with activities. Finally, don’t forget to share photos of you and your family and friends with the hearts with St Catherine’s using #hearttrailuk. The hospice will be sharing your pictures throughout the summer.