Amazing glass rainbows and hearts raised thousands for Wigan homelessness charity

Local glass artisan, Julie Langan, has raised nearly £7,000 from the sale of uniquely created fused glass rainbows and rainbow hearts, to help provide much-needed funds for The Brick, during the Covid-19 crisis.

Julie Langan’s glass workshop and gallery are located at Cedar Farm Galleries in Mawdesley, where Julie produces bespoke glass artwork and giftware along with a range of glass-making courses for all abilities.

The Brick, a Wigan-based charity, provides support for people across the borough who are homeless, in crisis or facing poverty and due to the Covid-19 Crisis, the charity’s foodbank has experienced a 73% drop in donations and over 300% demand for food parcels from its food bank.

Julie wanted to help a charity that was close to the heart of the people in her community, so to select the chosen charity she collated and published a shortlist of 3 local charities that were put to a vote on the Julie Langan Glass Facebook page. The Brick achieved the highest number of votes and was selected to receive the donated money from the sale of the glass rainbows.

Julie said: “This particular project and The Brick meant so much to me as it is so easy for anybody from any background, through no fault of their own, to suddenly be facing difficult times financially, which in turn can have a massive effect mentally. So many people right now must be facing enormous uncertainty and it is a great comfort to think that no matter who they are and what their situation The Brick is there to offer support help and guidance.

“Since the beginning of the lockdown, I wanted to make some items for charity. Rainbows were an obvious choice as they mean so much to everyone in so many different ways. For me personally, they symbolise that no matter how desperate a situation seems, there is always something beautiful to look for and that something positive always comes out of every situation, no matter how bleak it feels at the time. Rainbows are definitely a real symbol of hope during this crisis.”

Within 24 hours of the initial campaign launch, Julie had sold all of her 100 glass rainbow pieces from her Facebook page and due to the unprecedented demand launched the second phase of the campaign a week later, with another 100 pieces sold in under 4 hours. Julie has now raised over £6,677 for the charity and may reopen the order book if demand continues.

Julie added: “I decided to do another batch of rainbow art pieces as I was still getting so many enquiries regarding the items and people were sending so many lovely messages about who they are giving the items to, such as front-line nurses, teams of carers who are going the extra mile and friends who have lost loved ones due to Covid-19.

Keely Dalfen, Finance Director at The Brick, said: “‘We are delighted to have been chosen by Julie to receive the donations for her beautiful fused glass rainbow art. When we saw the rainbow pieces we were blown away. They are not only beautiful but symbolise the hope that we will make a real difference in the community for the people we support.

“A huge thank you to Julie, her team and everyone who has purchased a piece of art that will surely be a future reminder of the challenges that we have overcome during the COVID-19 crisis’’

To find out more about Julie Langan Glass, please visit http://www.julielanganglass.co.uk/

To donate to the Brick, people can text BRICK to 70480 plus the selected financial donation for example: Text BRICK 15 to 70480 to donate £15. Texts cost £15 plus one standard rate message.

Alternatively, you can visit The Brick’s Just Giving page.To find out more about The Brick, please visit www.thebrick.org.ukA message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

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