Bucky’s Story Supports Sick Kids

A kind-hearted illustrator and his company, which raised over £13,000 for us at our Dragon Boat Race, hav turned a new leaf on their support for our hospital, with a new Christmas themed children’s book.

Ben Barter, an illustrator and co-founder of Coventry-based animation company, Spirit Bridge Studio, has been supporting us since 2021 after a selection of books he illustrated in collaboration with a company called IM1313 were donated to our patients.

After that first visit to our hospital with the company’s founder, Pritpal Rai, Ben was inspired and reached out to us, to see how he could get involved and further support our charity and our hospital’s patients.

Ben signed up to become a charity volunteer, supporting us at events and fundraisers and in 2022, he took his support to the next level by becoming a charity ambassador, to help spread the word about our vital work.

In the three years that followed, Ben volunteered at many of our events, including abseils, its annual Dragon Boat Races and even held an art workshop at our hospital for patients. It was this dedication that saw Ben win the prestigious Volunteer of the Year title at the our 100 Heroes supporter recognition ceremony, earlier this year.

Though he’d always volunteered, it was Ben’s dream to bring his company, Spirit Bridge Studio, to take part in our Dragon Boat Race and this year, he got his hands on a sought-after place, with the promise that he’d raise the most of any teams on the day. Ben and Spirit Bridge Studio upheld their promise, raising over £13,000 on the day.

During this time, Ben and Spirit Bridge Studio were busy developing Bucky The Unicorn Bear – their own unique character, who would appear in a series of books and animations. This Christmas the team launched Bucky’s first book, Bucky The Unicorn Bear and the Elves of Christmas Eve – a heartwarming story about inclusion, friendship and adventure for all to enjoy.

Ben proudly wrote and illustrated the book himself and as such he and his team at Spirit Bridge Studio agreed to donate 10% of the profits from book sales to us. They even paid a special visit to our hospital’s oncology ward, with their Bucky mascot, to read the story and gift 50 of their books to patients.

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Ben’s support as both a volunteer and an ambassador is absolutely invaluable in helping us do more for our sick kids and we couldn’t be more grateful to have him and his team at Spirit Bridge Studio on board.

“Bucky The Unicorn Bear went down so well with our patients and we’re sure he’s going to be a hit with the public too. Ben’s generous 10% profit donation from each sale, plus his team’s incredible fundraising throughout the year will go a long way to help us improve experiences for our brave patients.”

To help their support for our charity go further, Ben and Spirit Bridge Studio have offered supporters and readers 25% off the Bucky The Unicorn Bear and the Elves of Christmas Eve book. Simply visit www.buckytheunicornbear.com and enter the code BCHBUCKY at the checkout.