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Supporting our communities is a key part of the CG Utilities ethos. With Swindon playing an important part in our everyday work, it is vital that we give back to the community whenever we can.
That is why we are proud to be supporting the Big Dog Art Trail, a fantastic initiative that will be unleashing more than 30 Swindogs across Swindon in 2023.
Running from 15 July to 3 September 2023, these super-sized balloon sculptures will create a free family-friendly walking trail through some of Swindon’s most well-loved and historic parks, landmarks and streets. The giant one-of-a-kind sculptures will then head off to their forever homes after being adopted at a special auction event to raise vital funds for Julia’s House children’s hospice.
More than 30 uniquely decorated Swindogs will create the UK’s first-ever balloon dog sculpture art trail and will raise essential funds for the local children’s hospice charity, Julia’s House. Each of the sculptures will be sponsored by a local company and, in January 2023, sponsors will be able to select their favourite design.
There will also be more than 30 Swinpups, just like the Swindog sculptures but smaller, forming part of the family-friendly art trail. Local schools, nurseries and youth groups will be able to adopt a Swinpup and create designs for their balloon dog sculptures.
The Big Dog Art Trail is being brought to Swindon by children’s hospice charity Julia’s House and global public art producer Wild in Art.
Julia’s House is a local charity dedicated to supporting the families of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in the heart of the community in Wiltshire and Dorset. Many of these children require round-the-clock care, which has a huge impact on family life.
Julia’s House provides bespoke care for every family it supports, with each family receiving around 200 hours of free care each year. Parents can choose when, where and how they receive their care – at home, in the community or at one of the charity’s two hospices in Devizes and Corfe Mullen – making it a truly flexible service. Julia’s House is there for the whole family, not just the seriously ill child, providing emotional support and social opportunities for parents, grandparents and siblings to help break the cycle of anxiety and isolation that can lead a family to breaking point.
This regular clinical care, respite and emotional support, plus emergency end-of-life care and bereavement support is provided completely free to families, thanks to the generosity of the local community. Julia’s House relies on public donations, fundraising and legacies for around 92% of the money needed to keep running its vital service in Wiltshire and Dorset.
Julia’s House children’s hospice cares for nearly 200 families across the two counties. Currently nearly 80% of the children supported by Julia’s House need two care team members present during their community sessions due to the complexity of their condition. And as more life-limited children are living for longer and with increasingly more complex care needs, demand for the specialist care that Julia’s House provides is expected to rise in the coming years.
The service that Julia’s House provides has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission and the charity is a Sunday Times Top 100 Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For.
Julia’s House is almost entirely reliant on donations to provide its outstanding care for the growing number of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions across Wiltshire. The charity recently launched its Together We Care Appeal to raise the £1.5m needed each year to continue providing essential respite breaks and support to local families.
For more information visit www.juliashouse.org
Wild in Art is the leading producer of spectacular public art events that entertain, enrich, inform and leave a lasting legacy. It brings together businesses and creative sectors with schools and local communities through the creation of uniquely painted sculptures.
Since 2008 Wild in Art has animated cities across the world including Manchester, Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town and São Paulo, and created trails for the London 2012 Olympics, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Historic Royal Palaces and Penguin Random House.
Wild in Art events have:
Enabled over £19.5m to be raised for charitable causes
Injected £2.4m into local creative communities
Engaged over 950,000 young people in learning programmes
Helped millions of people of all ages to experience art in non-traditional settings
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