Losing a parent at any time must be a feeling of unimaginable grief. Trying to cope with that loss at 10 and 8 years old just feels so brutal and unfair we at 500 Reasons HQ were moved into immediate and unanimous action when we received Holly’s nomination for these poor children trying to come to terms with living in a world without their Dad. It’s an honour to be able to finish the shed that Paul started but due to poor health was unable to. A fitting legacy to a much loved Dad. A haven of safety, an oasis of calm and creativity and a shelter from life’s stormier days. X
Hi 500 Reasoners,
I would like to make a nomination for 2 children called Edda and Sami, and a shed… (bear with me). I went to school with Edda and Sami’s dad – Paul. He was a very kind, smiley boy, with a penchant for Doc Martins, an air of scruffiness, and a love for the arts. He was a very talented artist, and as he grew into adulthood moved to the North East for art school and settled there. Over time he established a wonderful gallery in Gateshead which showcased new talent and tried to get artists exposed to national and international audiences. From there he established Workplace Foundation, a charity with the aim of supporting emerging and underrepresented artists from outside of London. He was brilliant at finding new artists, seeing something in their practice and teasing out aspects that they might not have considered previously. On Valentine’s Day this year, Paul died aged 44 from heart complications stemming from Wiskott - Aldrich syndrome which he’d had all his life, although it rarely seemed to stop him living a full life and making some brilliant contributions to enriching the lives of others. You can read more about him here: https://www.workplacegallery.co.uk/paul-moss/ Before he died, Paul had started working on a shed for his daughter Edda and his son Sami – a place they could play and just have fun in. Since he died, their mum has been understandably focused on much bigger things, and whilst art makes a wonderful contribution to enriching the lives of us mortals, it doesn’t necessarily lead to great wealth (unless you’re one of the very lucky ones). All the money the family now has needs to go on physical essentials. I’ll be honest: a shed isn’t physically essential. But it is becoming emotionally incredibly important. It remaining half-finished is painful for the children and they want to finish what their Dad started for them. Local friends have managed to muster a ready team of volunteers to build it, but they need the materials. I would dearly love to be able to say that 500 Reasons would provide the money for the materials they need to complete the shed: a mini DIY SOS if you will. I’d love us to have a little legacy in the North East whereby a grieving family could complete what their wonderful father started and had space to fulfil his vision. Thank you for your consideration. Holly
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