St Barnabas Hospice in Grantham kick starts 40th anniversary celebrations by launching Lincolnshire's biggest art trail

Local artists and businesses gathered together to celebrate the launch of the HeART Trail yesterday (Wednesday) which will run during summer 2022.

Next year is an important milestone for St Barnabas Hospice, which has a hospice on Barrowby Road and a unit inside Grantham Hospital, as they celebrate their 40th anniversary of providing end-of-life and palliative care to the people of Lincolnshire.

Recent art trails have taken place in Lincoln, but the Hospice has ambitious plans to take over the whole of Lincolnshire with the HeART Trail, making it more accessible for the communities

they support.

Artists, both professional and amateur, local and national, are now invited to submit their designs to be part of the trail.

Sponsors will select either a finished design or an artist with whom they would like to work. The artists will then be commissioned to create their design during April and May.

The Hospice is encouraging local businesses to ‘have heart’ and sponsor a sculpture to celebrate the 40 th anniversary. Unlike other trails, once a company sponsors a heart, it will be theirs to keep once the trail is finished. Sponsors also benefit from great brand exposure, networking opportunities, increased corporate social responsibility, staff engagement and team building opportunities.

Sponsors will select their chosen design in March 2022.

They aim to raise £300,000 and put Lincolnshire on the map as the ‘Place to Visit in 2022.’

As well as raising money and awareness for the Hospice, there will be a Young at HeART Trail to engage with children across the county. It will be as inclusive as possible, with each

school or community group being paired with a local artist and given the tools to produce their very own heart sculpture.

Veronica McBain, head of fund-raising and lottery at St Barnabas Hospice said: “The plans for our 40th anniversary are very ambitious, and we want to use the year as a celebration of

the incredible growth we have achieved, as well as the supporters who have helped us get here.

"We are bringing this special trail to the people of Lincolnshire with the aim of it being more inclusive than ever before. We want you to join us and be part of the most significant

Lincolnshire tourism and community marketing campaign for 2022, whilst raising much-needed funds for your local Hospice.

“I want to say a personal thank you to Lincoln BIG, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, Waterside Shopping Centre and S. Lyon & Son Haulage for coming on

board already as partners for the trail.

"We are looking forward to working alongside them next year, as well as other local businesses who come on board as heart sponsors.”

Artists and businesses looking to get involved in the Trail can find more information at

www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/hearttrail. Please send any questions to

veronica.mcbain@stbarnabashospice.co.uk.