Donations for ‘in memory’ dragonflies have hit £68,000 as St Barnabas Hospice reaches the half-way point in their campaign.
St Barnabas Hospice, a Lincolnshire-based charity, launched their dragonfly appeal in March so supporters could make a donation and receive a beautiful, ironwork dragonfly for their garden. These dragonflies are made locally, and the 1,500 that were initially commissioned by the Hospice have almost sold out. 
After seeing the huge popularity of these dragonflies, St Barnabas is delighted to announce that 1,500 more will now be available to order. The dragonflies stand at 85cm tall with a wingspan of 21cm and body length of 13cm.
Dragonflies are often used as a symbol of life after death and are a special way of helping children to understand their grief when a loved one dies. Money raised from the dragonfly appeal will help to launch a free children’s bereavement service at the Hospice, giving children and young people the opportunity to talk about their grief in one-to-one or group settings, with trained counsellors.
Stefanos from The Old Smithy in South Ferriby is once again working with the Hospice to create these little creatures, after the huge success of his forget me nots which raised over £100,000 for the Hospice last year.
Roz, Stefanos’s wife said, “Prior to the pandemic we had been busy making dragonflies at the forge. Virtually all our garden shows etc. have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus, however fortunately online sales have meant that Stefanos has still been able to create his sculptures and dragonflies.
“Over 1,000 dragonflies are ready, many have been delivered to St Barnabas and many more will be ready to ‘fly’ soon. We are delighted to inform you that the The Old Smithy is now full steam ahead and looking forward to making any additional dragonflies required for the appeal.
“We feel privileged to support the charity after the success of the forget me nots last year and look forward to seeing the amazing display later in the year.”
Neil Buck, a supporter of St Barnabas Hospice, will be dedicating his dragonfly in memory of his wonderful wife Dawn, mum to their young daughter, Sophie. 
Neil said, “The time that Dawn spent at St Barnabas helped us all immensely. They don’t just look after the patient; they make it about the wider family. Just the week before Dawn died, we had our sixth wedding anniversary. They let me take our dog in to see her and we celebrated with a bottle of prosecco. It made such a difference.
“We have an Acer tree in our garden for Dawn, which helps us feel close to her. This is where our dragonfly will be going, so it can watch over Dawn for us when we’re not there. It’s so important for us to keep her memory alive and to celebrate everything that she was. She was my world and I miss her every single day. I see so much of her in Sophie and that is what keeps me going.”
These beautiful dragonflies will go on display in the gardens at Doddington Hall from Saturday 12th to Sunday 27th September. Once the display ends, they will be available for delivery or collection in October. The campaign is being sponsored by the Waterside Shopping Centre.
The Hospice is looking for a suggested donation of £34.19 per dragonfly, which would fund two bereavement support sessions to help a person through their grief. To dedicate yours in memory of a loved one and receive it in October, visit www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/dragonfly.
