Claire Sundin

Embracing Arts takes specially designed shows into children’s hospices at Christmas time under the working name ‘Christmas for Kids’. Our aim is to improve the wellbeing of sick and disabled children by bringing fun, joy and silliness to them and their families in a safe and familiar environment. When Covid-19 hit in 2020, it went straight to the heart of what we do and blocked it completely. We had to find another way to bring our unique brand of theatre, music, puppetry and sensory stimulation to those families who needed us more than ever. Claire Sundin directed and produced our first ever digital interactive show – ‘Benson’s Christmas Letter’. The show was a huge success, with incredible feedback from all who received it. Not only did we deliver it to every children’s hospice in the UK, we also brought it to 100 SEND schools in the UK’s most disadvantaged areas. We reached over 2,000 beneficiaries, and we did all of this at no cost to the hospices, schools or families. Digital output will remain a feature of our work moving forward; in 2020 it tripled our outreach, bringing the arts to those children who probably benefit from it most.