OneFamily donates £10,000 to Martlets in exchange for ‘Pebble the Sheep’
A custom painted ‘Shaun the Sheep’ sculpture, known as Pebble, is now at home in the OneFamily Brighton office.
Last year, the Shaun by the Sea art trail took over Brighton, getting both residents and visitors to walk through the city and track down 42 uniquely painted Shaun the Sheep sculptures.
The sculptures were auctioned off to benefit Martlets, raising £400,000, and bringing the total raised for the charity by the art trail to £850,000.
Danni Smith’s original OneFamily sheep, known as ‘Briny’, was covered head to hoof in detailed illustrations of Brighton’s local wetlands and its native species. Inspired by Briny and its artist, we donated a further £10,000 to Martlets and received a blank sheep, which we commissioned Danni to paint for us.
Clare Kidd, Head of Fundraising at Martlets, was pleased with not only the outcome of last year’s art trail but also the extra money OneFamily donated in exchange for Pebble.
“Every single penny donated through the Shaun by the Sea project means that Martlets can keep caring for people living with a terminal illness in Brighton & Hove and The Havens,” she said.
“It costs £10 million each year to keep Martlets caring. The care we provide is only free thanks to the generosity of supporters like OneFamily.”
Clare Kidd, Head of Fundraising at Martlets
Jim Islam, CEO of OneFamily, also highlighted the importance of our long-running partnership with Martlets.
“Martlets has always been a charity we have been proud to support and we are pleased to have made this further donation which will support people through incredibly difficult times," he said.
“The whole team here at Martlets are so grateful for OneFamily’s ongoing support, thank you,” Clare added.
Over several weeks, the OneFamily Brighton office became an art studio as Danni brought our custom Shaun to life. Still painted in Danni’s signature detailed style, our new sheep shows a view of the Brighton seafront, including the Hove Beach Huts, the i360, the West Pier and the Brighton Pier.
“It’s been fantastic having our Brighton office temporarily turned into an artist’s studio for the talented Danni Smith and seeing our very own Shaun the Sheep come to life.”
Jim Islam, CEO of OneFamily
Honouring Briny’s original purpose, our custom sheep, named “Pebble” after Brighton’s pebble beach, also shows a variety of local Brighton wildlife, from curious seals to chip-stealing seagulls. Right at the centre of the painting, you can find not only our main office building, but also a little beagle to represent Beagle Street!
Pebble now joins another beloved resident sculpture, Bella the Snowdog, which joined us in 2016 after being displayed during the Snowdogs by the Sea art trail.
You can watch Danni bring Pebble to life in our video below:
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