Helium Arts is 5 … Help make 2015 our best year yet

Can you believe Helium Arts & Health is five? Our organisation has come so far from the days when it was just me visiting hospitals with my Clown Doctor’s satchel to bring fun and light into the lives of sick children and teenagers. Now, Helium Arts & Health is a national organisation, delivering exciting arts opportunities and the best of artistic talent to unwell young people around the country. Since 2009, over 3,500 children – and their families – in hospitals, healthcare centres and patient support groups across 10 counties have benefited from Helium’s work.

Looking towards 2015 and another year in Helium’s ground-breaking arts in healthcare work, I am reaching out to you, our supporters and friends. While we have secured some much-needed funding for next year’s work, we are still far-off what we need to brighten up more children’s darker days in the clinical and medical environment that surrounds them.

An investment of just €50 can give 1 child access to Helium’s programmes. An investment of €400 can help Helium make a difference in the lives of 8 children and their families in the healthcare system.

If you can spare it, we are asking you to donate whatever you can afford to help us continue to deliver amazing artistic programmes to sick children and teenagers in 2015. Please click here to donate.

Or if you would like to celebrate our birthday with family, friends or workmates by organising a Helium fundraising event at home, in work, or in your local community, why not consider these ideas:

• A children and parents “arty party”
• A coffee morning at home or at work
• A bake-sale in your local community centre, school or park

For more ideas or help with organising your Helium fundraising event, please contact anna@old.helium.ie

What we do

Cloudlands is our largest artist in residence project, and the recent winner of the Allianz Business to Arts Award for Best Use of Creativity in the Community. Young people like Mary who have to spend long periods of time in hospital have found the project to be “a good way to express yourself … you need some outlet”. Read more about Mary’s story here and check out some great artwork by young people from Cloudlands here. If you would like to find out more information on our other programmes, research and professional development please click here.

Yours most gratefully,
Helene Hugel,
CEO and Artistic Director