Bournemouth, Charity, Christchurch, Poole | Posted on September 20th, 2024 | return to news
Sign up now for Julia’s House mer-mazing adventure
Schools, nurseries and youth groups in the BCP area can sign up now to the Great Tail Trail and become part of a mer-mazing adventure.
The deadline to sign up for the Great Tail Trail, one of the biggest and most colourful events to take place in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), is fast approaching.
The Great Tail Trail will open to the public for eight weeks from 5 April 2025 to raise vital funds for Julia’s House children’s hospice. It will feature giant mermaid tail sculptures decorated with striking designs in popular locations across the three towns.
Deadline to sign up is 11 October 2024
Laura Maidement, public fundraising manager said: “The deadline to sign up is fast approaching and there are only a limited number of sculptures available, so we really recommend you register as quickly as possible to secure your very own Tiny Tail,” she added, “There are so many great reasons to sign up – and lots of fun to be had.”
One of the first schools to sign up
Canford Heath Junior School was one of the first schools to sign up. Head teacher Mark Wilson said: “Every year our school council votes for a charity that they’d like to raise money for, and this year it just happened to be Julia’s House. Then we heard about The Great Tail Trail and were determined to raise the £750 that would enable us to get a Tiny Tail.” He said that so far the school “has raised over £3,000.”
Wilson added: “Julia’s House is an important charity within our community and as a local school we think it’s really important to support a local charity. We’re running a competition for the pupils to create a design for our tail and we’ve had some fantastic entries already. It’s going to be really tricky to choose a winner.
“Part of the attraction of this project is that the children can go out and look for their tail on the trail, and then it comes back to us to keep forever. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Learning programme sponsor announced
Coming on board as sponsor of the learning programme is LV=, a long-term supporter of Julia’s House.
Samantha Preece, chief brand and communications officer for LV= said: “We’re excited to further our support of the Great Tail Trail as sponsor of the learning programme. With local schools and community groups getting involved and fundraising for Julia’s House, together we can make a big difference for the children and families it supports. We’re looking forward to seeing the Tiny Tails on display during the trail in 2025.”
Unique, creative learning experience
By signing up to the trail’s learning programme, schools and groups will receive their very own Tiny Tail sculpture to design and paint — with only a limited number of sculptures available they are set to be snapped up quickly.
Participating schools and groups will be supported with guidance and resources to design their sculpture, engage their young learners in the project and help them fundraise a target amount of £750 for Julia’s House, to help the charity continue its life-changing care for seriously ill children.
Once decorated, the colourful Tiny Tails will feature on the free art trail alongside 45 giant mermaid tail sculptures painted by professional artists and sponsored by local businesses.
What happens to the sculptures after the event?
The sculptures will be displayed together for one last time at a farewell event at the Bournemouth International Centre from 14–15 June 2025, before the Tiny Tails ‘swim’ home to their schools or groups to be treasured for years to come. An auction of the giant sculptures will be held on 20 June 2025 to raise funds for Julia’s House.
Julia’s House: there for the community
Julia’s House marked its 20th anniversary in 2023 and continues to provide a lifeline of specialist care to local families facing the unimaginable sadness that their child may not survive into adulthood.
The mermaid tail sculptures take their inspiration from the Mermaid Suite at the Julia’s House hospice, where round-the-clock care and support is given to families when the worst happens and a child reaches the end of their life. The Care Team works closely with paediatric palliative care specialists and the wider community medical team to support the child and help the whole family.
Julia’s House receives just eight per cent funding from the government and relies heavily on public fundraising, donations and gifts in wills to carry out its vital service.
The Great Tail Trail will help raise funds and awareness so that the charity can continue to provide its lifeline of care to local families.
Sign up now
Schools and groups can sign up to join The Great Tail Trail’s learning programme by visiting www.juliashouse.org/tinytail
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