Housebuilder David Wilson Homes recently donated a sum of £10,000 towards Heart of Kent Hospice, covering the cost of two vandalised Shaun the Sheep sculptures from Maidstone’s ‘Shaun the Sheep in the Heart of Kent’ art trail.
The contribution from the housebuilder, who is building nearby at The Poppies development in Aylesford, means the full amount to replace the trail has now been achieved.
To the dismay of the local community, two out of the 109 Shaun the Sheep sculptures from the art trail dotted around Maidstone were destroyed in an act of vandalism, at the end of August this year. Like all the Shaun sculptures in the trail, ‘Shikki Shaun’ and ‘Cherry Shaun’ were designed and hand painted by local artists with love and care.
Unfortunately, due to the vandalism that occurred, the sculptures had to be removed from the Trail for the remaining two weeks and weren’t able to appear at the Farewell weekend at Maidstone Market in September. There was also a risk that the sculptures would not be able to be auctioned off but thanks to the generosity of David Wilson and the local community both sculptures are in the process of being recreated and repaired enabling them to be auctioned off at the final auction.
Natalie Perry, Sales and Marketing Director at David Wilson Kent, commented: “Like most in the Maidstone community, our colleagues at ‘The Poppies’ development in Aylesford were sad to hear about the intentional damage inflicted on both sculptures. We have previously worked with Heart of Kent Hospice and the work they do in the Maidstone community is invaluable. We hope that the funds will go some way in repairing the sculptures and to allow the charity to continue their work.”
Erica Snow, Project Manager at Heart of Kent Hospice, added: “After two of our sculptures were destroyed in the vandalism incident in late August, we felt really let down. After all the time, dedication and hard work that went into the creation of both sheep, making the decision to remove ‘Shikki’ and ‘Cherry’ from the auction and the thought of missing out on such a significant chunk of money towards our fundraising efforts was heartbreaking. We are so grateful to David Wilson Kent for generously donating £10,000 to enable us to repair both sculptures . Without their help, the actions of a few vandals would have forced us to write up ‘Shikki’ and ‘Cherry’ as a loss. Thank you so much David Wilson Kent!”
Heart of Kent Hospice provides specialist care and support to adults who have a terminal illness as well as their loved ones completely free of charge. Helping people to live as fully and as well as possible for the rest of their lives, ensuring that their final days are comfortable and peaceful. For further details about Heart of Kent Hospice, call 01622792200 or visit https://www.hokh.org/.
