Join the herd for new charity art trail set to take over Cambridge!

Break, the charity which supports leaving care and on the edge of care across East Anglia, are excited to be bringing another fantastic sculpture art trail to Cambridge next spring!

Following on from the success of the Cows about Cambridge trail in 2021, Cambridge Standing Tall will see around 40 giraffe sculptures take to the streets of Cambridge for 10 weeks from March 2024 – giving residents and visitors an exciting new perspective of the city.

Delivered in partnership with Wild in Art and principal partner Cambridge Business Improvement District (BID), the trail will be bringing together a wide variety of organisations from across Cambridgeshire and is only made possible by the involvement of the community of businesses, individuals, schools, community groups and artists.

“We can’t wait to release our herd into the wild next spring,” comments Break Senior Partnerships and Projects Manager Pete Marron. “We work closely with the local business community to create a trail that everyone can enjoy and we are always looking for more organisations to join our tower of giraffe supporters. It is such a great way for businesses and their teams to be involved in an inclusive public art event that is profile raising, community focused and that also has both positive social and economic impact on the region.”

This towering sculpture trail has a variety of sponsorship levels on offer, from the sponsorship of a single sculpture, to presenting and supporting partners which can contribute to budget relieving, valuein-kind support. Each 2.5m gentle giant that is sponsored will then be brought to life following an art selection event where businesses get to choose from designs submitted by established artists. Local schools and community groups are also being encouraged to take part by adopting and decorating one of up to the fifty Mini Gs, a smaller sculpture that will be part of the trail’s Learning and Community Programme.

Ian Sandison, Cambridge BID Chief Executive Officer, says: “We are delighted to be the Principal Partner for the Cambridge

Standing Tall 2024 project and to be working with Break on the city’s second art sculpture trail. Our ambition for this trail is to showcase the city to all who visit, live and work in Cambridge and encourage people to come out and explore areas they may not be familiar with. The trail is designed for all age ranges therefore can be enjoyed by the whole family, making this a low-cost, accessible activity for everyone.” Not only will people be encouraged to look up at the amazing artwork on offer, but all proceeds will support Break, who works across Cambridge and Cambridgeshire to raise the aspirations of the county’s care leavers and standing tall for young people with care experience –telling them that the sky is never the limit. Businesses and organisations that have already joined the new herd include Cambridge BID, Pentaco Construction Ltd., Cambridge Independent, Cambridge City Council, Aspiration Europe, Hilton Cambridge City Centre, Gonville Hotel Cambridge, First Copy, Grand Arcade and Lion Yard. The Cambridge Standing Tall project team are offering a special discount on sponsorship for Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce members. For more information visit break-charity. org/cambridge-standing-tall/ or email fundraising@break-charity.org

Panther Taxis donates £26,000 to Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

Cambridgeshire’s largest private hire operator, Panther Taxis, has donated over £26,000 to their Charity of the Year 2022.

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity was selected by community nomination in late 2021, and throughout 2022 0.5 per cent of every booking made by card through the Panther Taxis app was pledged to the charity, with donations made quarterly.

Surpassing the initial target of £20,000, the total donation amounted to £26,264.73 - the most ever raised through the scheme.

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity cares for more than 4,100 patients each year at their Hospice in Cambridge, the Alan Hudson Day

Treatment Centre in Wisbech and in patients’ own homes in the community.

Paul Clare, General Manager of Panther Taxis, said: “Raising more than £26,000 for Arthur Rank Hospice Charity has exceeded our expectations. We hope these funds will give a timely boost to support the charity in their important work providing compassionate care to those that need it in Cambridgeshire.

“It has been a pleasure to work with their fundraising team and their supporters. We hope to work with them again in the future.”

Jodie Vaughan, Head of Fundraising at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, said: “We are grateful to everyone who helped raise this amazing amount, from Panther Taxis and their staff to passengers who used the app in the last year. All of you have helped make a difference to the lives of so many people in our communities with a life-limiting illness.”