ONE of Britain's best-loved illustrators has donated a drawing to an art auction in aid of a baby hospice.
The drawing was done by Sir Quentin Blake – known for his distinctive illustrations for children's books, including novels by Roald Dahl – for Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice, which has a facility in Teesside.
The artwork, entitled ‘Giant Stork with its Chick’, will help to raise funds for the charity, which was forced to close for five months this year at the start of the pandemic but has remained open during the second lockdown.
The auction is taking place online, through eBay, and will be open until 8pm on Saturday.
Claire Baines, from the group Little Fighters, which is organising the event, said: “Having the support of Sir Quentin Blake is incredible and I’m very much looking forward to his piece being part of the auction, although I’ll be highly jealous of the person who gets their hands on it.
"Any support for the auction is hugely appreciated and knowing our efforts have been acknowledged by one of the most recognisable illustrators really does mean a lot, especially to a parent like myself who wouldn’t know where they would be without Zoë’s Place.”
The work by Quentin Blake
Birmingham-based deaf award-winning multi-talented contemporary artist, Olivier Jamin, has also donated two pieces of artwork to the auction, entitled Birds and Alright Bab, worth £60 and £150 respectively.
Both artworks from Sir Quentin Blake and Olivier Jamin will be listed for auction on eBay, with bids closing at 8pm on Saturday 28th November.
Ian Carr, head of fundraising at Zoë’s Place, said: “We’d like to thank the Little Fighters community fundraising group for going above and beyond, year after year, to raise much-needed funds for Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice.
“The Little Fighters group is not only made up of incredible and creative fundraisers that I consider myself privileged to work with, but parents that directly benefit from the care Zoë’s Place provides. They can see how the money is spent, where the money goes and how important the charity’s work is to families, which makes their efforts all the more important.
“The group has so far raised more than £7,000 for Zoë’s Place; enough to grant over 280 hours of care to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, based on the current cost of care at £25 per child, per hour.
“Without the help of fundraisers like Little Fighters, Zoë’s Place wouldn’t be able to continue to offer its services, for free, to the families that really need it. So, with that in mind, thank you.”
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