The South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit are sponsoring a bear in this year’s Bears of Sheffield Sculpture Trail starting in Sheffield on Monday, 12 July.
Beartanical Bear, beautifully designed by local artist Vanessa Scott is located at the entrance to Graves Park Animal Farm and will be available to view as part of the trail throughout the summer months.
To celebrate the launch of the Bears of Sheffield Sculpture Trail, members of the South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit will be with Beartanical from 9.30am on Monday, 12 July. They will be located at the entrance to Graves Park Animal Farm and handing out small cuddly VRU bears to any children that come along to meet Beartanical.
Graham Jones, Head of the South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit said: “This is a fantastic cause and well worthy of the businesses and communities in South Yorkshire coming together to raise vital funds and celebrate all the positives that Sheffield and South Yorkshire have to offer.
“The Violence Reduction Unit have chosen to sponsor a bear as part of their community engagement work. The sponsoring of a bear provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the unit with partners and the public and for us to engage with communities in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
“The team will be available to meet with members of the public during Monday’s launch, armed with a supply of cuddly VRU bears, especially for our young visitors.”
For each visit to Beartanical, funds will be raised to transform the Cancer and Leukaemia Ward at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
The ward treats children with cancer and blood disorders from babies through to 19-year olds from South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and as far south as Northampton.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “We are pleased to sponsor this beautifully designed bear. It enables us to introduce the work of the Violence Reduction Unit to any who visit the park and to support worthy causes.
“These coloured bears evoke for children an image of Sheffield as a bright and interesting place in which to grow up. Too often the news can be depressing for younger people. We want them to see at an early age that this is how things can and should be.“
Visitors to Beartanical are encouraged to take photos of themselves with our bear and tag us in on social media @SY_VRU , so that we can share in the fun throughout the summer with you.
For more information on Beartanical Bear please see the Bears of Sheffield website here – bearsofsheffield.com/trail_item/beartanical/
You can get involved in the Bears of Sheffield here – bearsofsheffield.com/trail/
