Just back from the magical experience of being part of The Caudwell Children’s Charity event at The Roundhouse, London and I can’t help feeling just a bit proud of my artwork helping to raise funds for disabled children throughout the UK!
Being photographed walking into the event on the Caudwell purple carpet and experiencing this glitzy, glamourous occasion must be one of the most memorable evenings of my life. This was a 21st party celebration of the number of years the Charity has been supporting disabled children throughout the UK and I was one of them about 15 years ago!
I attended a special school at the time in Hastings and also received support for many years to enjoy and feel the benefit of art on courses at https://projectartworks.org/ from the age of about 5.
Despite the luxurious surroundings and the beautiful people there that evening, the main purpose of the Butterfly Ball was to serve as a reminder of how hard it is for families everywhere when a child’s life is affected by autism or another disability. I was proud to announce that I’m a COP26 One Step Greener ambassador and that I was asked to represent the autistic community. I explained that my strong environmental views and art using recycled materials have taken me recently to 10 Downing Street, COP26 Glasgow and now back to London to the Butterfly Ball. This would not have been believable when I was younger as I had a number of health problems linked with my condition. With support I made progress and I am so happy to have now given my support to the Charity to help other young people.
The success for me was thinking that hopefully some of the other children’s faces shown on the large screen at the Ball would be smiling when they and their families are helped by all the funds raised during the whole evening. And – what a way to celebrate!
