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WS Training and Hop to It! Suffolk
We’re proud to announce that WS Training is participating in the St Elizabeth Hospice art trail 2025!
Following the success of Pigs Gone Wild, Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk and The Big Hoot Ipswich, St. Elizabeth Hospice has partnered with Wild in Art and is launching the fourth trail… Hop to it! Suffolk 2025. The aim of the initiative is to bring together local businesses, artists and the community, while raising funds for the hospice. We’re thrilled to announce that WS Training is participating!
About St Elizabeth Hospice
St Elizabeth Hospice is dedicated to supporting people living with progressive and life-limiting illnesses across East and Mid-Suffolk, as well as Great Yarmouth and Waveney. The hospice provides compassionate, tailored care to patients and their families, ensuring they receive the right support when they need it most.
Whether the individual is at home, in the community, or on the Inpatient Unit wards in Ipswich or Beccles, the hospice’s expert team works tirelessly to support families who need it. Their services include, but are not limited to:
- 24/7 helpline, which allows them to provide quick and appropriate advice to members of the public, patients, relatives, carers, medical professionals and social care workers
- Physiotherapy and occupational therapy
- Emotional and spiritual support
- Bereavement support
As a charity, St Elizabeth Hospice depends on fundraising and community support to continue its vital work. Through initiatives like the Hop to It! Suffolk 2025 art trail, midnight walks, and garden trails are able to engage the local community while raising essential funds to sustain and expand their services.
For more information about the hospice’s care services, visit St Elizabeth Hospice.
Wild in Art
St Elizabeth Hospice is partnering with Wild in Art to deliver the art trail. Wild in Art is an organisation who works with charities, brand owners, artists and businesses worldwide to create memorable public art trails that truly make a difference.
Why did St Elizabeth Hospice choose hares?
The hares symbolise the care St Elizabeth Hospice provides. Generally, hares are known to travel across stretches of land. Like hares, St Elizabeth Hospice staff travel across Suffolk to support those who need it. For the first time, the art trail is expanding beyond Ipswich to reflect the hospice’s dedication to offer support services around Suffolk. Organisers will place the Hares in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Woodbridge, Felixstowe, and Beccles.
How does it work?
We’ve been through various different stages to get the hares to their final destination.
Phase 1 – Collecting our hares
A member of our team went to St Elizabeth Hospice to collect our hares. Overall, we had one for our Ipswich team and one for our Lowestoft team.
Phase 2 – Choosing a design
Secondly, our further education learners created designs for our hares, and we chose a final mix based on their ideas. Keep reading to find out why we chose the solar and tortoise hare designs…
The Solar hare was chosen because we like to remind our learners that there is a massive universe out there! We ask them to imagine the possibility of what they can achieve when they put their mind to it!
You might have heard of the saying, “slow and steady wins the race”. We chose the tortoise hare to reflect WS Training’s support for learners who may need extra time to reach their goals.
Phase 3 – Decorating the hares
Following this, our dedicated tutor took the hares home to begin the decorating process, ensuring that every detail reflected the chosen concept beautifully. We must say, this tutor is so talented!
Phase 4 – Saying goodbye
On Friday 21st March, the hares returned to St Elizabeth Hospice to join a free public art trail across Suffolk. Following the launch of the trail, the community can explore and enjoy them around Suffolk.
Phase 5 – Fundraising for St Elizabeth Hospice
Lastly, we are continuing to fundraise money for the hares.
Two members of staff were able to walk a marathon to help raise money, although it’s not just staff that have been able to help. Our learners have been able to fundraise too through various activities.
We have set an ambitious target to raise £1,300 for St Elizabeth Hospice, and we would love your support! Every donation makes a difference and helps the hospice continue to provide care for people with life-limiting illnesses.
If you’d like to contribute, please visit our fundraising page and donate here: https://stelizabethhospice.enthuse.com/pf/megan-paternoster
We will be sharing updates on our hares’ transformations, behind-the-scenes looks at our learners’ creative process, and key trail updates on our website and social media. Make sure to follow us to stay up to date and see how our hares take shape!
Key Dates to Remember
- Public art trail launch: 21st June 2025
- Final day of the trail: 29th August 2025
During this time, residents and visitors can follow the trail, discover decorated hares, and support the hospice’s vital work.
On the 21st of June 2025, the art trail will launch, and the local community can visit and celebrate the hares together. The final day of the trail is 29th August 2025. Lastly, once the trail has ended, the hares will be auctioned off to raise funds for St Elizabeth Hospice.
We’re incredibly proud to be part of Hop to It! Suffolk 2025 and to support St Elizabeth Hospice and their vital work. This initiative is not just about art, it’s about community, creativity, and making a real difference. Above all, we can’t wait to see our hares on display alongside so many other fantastic designs. Don’t forget to visit the trail this summer to spot our hares in action!
