Card2Kendal appeal in aid of Kendal's Storm Desmond flood victims

My very talented artist friend Helen, who has been involved in all sorts of artistic ventures in Kendal, has sent details of  ‪#‎card2kendal‬ a big event for this year, which is to help raise funds for flooded families in the area. In December 2015 Storm Desmond caused much damage to residential and business properties and many properties are still unoccupiable with families living in temporary accommodation.

Anyone who would like to help is more than welcome to create and donate to this event.

Card2Kendal appeal

 We need your help to spread the word about an exciting new project.

We want to contact people from around the world to invite them to send a post-card sized artwork to Kendal to be sold to raise money to help the town’s recovery from devastating floods. 

Organisers, Kendal Arts Community, emphasise anyone from a world famous artist to a complete beginner can contribute. 

All they have to do is put their painting, drawing, collage or photograph on one side of a plain postcard, and send to Kendal Flood Relief Centre at Westmorland Shopping Centre, Stricklandgate, Kendal, LA9 4LR. 

Visitors, locals and others who want to donate a post-card sized artwork in any other medium can deliver it in person to the support centre, where they will be stored and displayed. 

They will then be displayed in KAC’s unit at K Village in Lound Road and online at www.facebook.com/kendalartscommunity, from June 11 to June 18, the day of Kendal Summer Arts at the same venue. 

As part of the festival, the post-cards will all be sold off for a flat fee of £20, regardless of the artist, famous or unknown, professional or amateur, young or old. Any postcards left over after the event will be displayed and go on sale at the Relief Centre. 

The post-cards or similar sized artworks can be signed by the artist or left anonymous.
All the money raised will go towards the cost of helping people recover from the floods. Cheques should be made payable to Kings Food Bank, which has administered the Kendal Flood Relief Centre since it was set up the day after Storm Desmond hit on December 5.

Rachel Ellis, who has managed Kendal’s Flood Relief effort from Kendal Town Hall and then the unit in Westmorland Shopping Centre since the storm said: “It is a fantastic idea.” 

Cumbria Community Foundation Flood Recovery Appeal announced in March that it had given £2 million to people across the county. 

It has also given £300,000 to community groups to help rebuild and replace sporting equipment and provide practical and emotional support. 

But they now believe they will need more than £9 million to meet the demand, which is expected to last 18 months from the date of the storms, so increased their target to £7 million.

More than 5,000 homes and hundreds of businesses and community buildings were flooded when rivers including the Kent in Kendal, the Eden in Appleby and Carlisle, and the Derwent in Keswick burst their banks.

Kendal was the worst hit with more than 2,000 homes inundated. Many householders are still in temporary accommodation or suffering hardship following the floods.

KAC co-ordinator, Zoe Baker, said: “Several artists in Kendal were among those whose homes were affected by the floods, so we understand what a traumatic time it has been. We thought the postcard sale was a way of offering practical help and also having fun and boosting creativity."

More details at www.facebook.com/Card2Kendal and www.facebook.com/kendalartscommunity