Virginia McKenna Draws Winning Ticket
The winner of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation grand prize draw has been drawn by actress and conservationist Virginia McKenna.
The first prize, an original painting of lions by the internationally renowned wildlife artist has been won by M Rose of Staffordshire, while a further 12 runners up have won signed books, limited edition prints and other prizes. (A full list of winners can be found below.) Between the sales of prize draw tickets, donations and a percentage of sales donated by Pollyanna from her exhibition of paintings inspired by the work of Born Free, the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation is aiming to raise £12,000 to begin construction on a new sanctuary being built in Ethiopia, to rehome rescued big cats.
The prize draw ran throughout Pollyanna’s summer exhibition, one of the official events held to mark the 25th anniversary of The Born Free Foundation, a dynamic international wildlife charity, devoted to compassionate conservation and animal welfare.
Pollyanna first worked with Born Free In 1990 when she travelled to Southern India to paint five tigers rescued from appalling conditions in a roadside circus and flown to this sanctuary by the charity. Pollyanna has been pleased to continue to support the work of Born Free – including painting exclusive Christmas cards for them. Her charitable Foundation has also been able to contribute funding towards several of their projects, including purchasing equipment for their Orphan Polar Bear rescue project (this rescue scheme based in Canada is the only project which aims to re-release orphaned polar bears back into the wild), and providing funding for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Project, which vaccinates this vulnerable species against rabies.
Virginia gained worldwide renown as an actress for her roles in films including ‘Born Free’ and A Town Like Alice before going on to dedicate her life to conservation and animal welfare. She took time out of her hectic schedule to visit Pollyanna’s gallery , and was full of praise for the exhibition telling us “The exhibition was fantastic as I knew it would be, and I could tell from the comments of the visitors how much they admired Pollyanna’s work”.
2009 Prize Draw Winners :
First Prize : Original Painting : 0251: M Rose, Staffordshire
Second Prize : Signed Limited Edition Print & Book: 1911 : Ms S. White, Ripley, Derbyshire
Third Prize :Books signed by Virginia McKenna, Pollyanna and Anna-Louise Pickering: 1766 : Mr M. Roberts, Chesterfield
Runners up prizes ;
1676 : Framed Cross Stitch from Mystic Sprit Collection : M Webb, Stafford (Kindly donated by DMC)
0429 :Meal at Brasserie Blanc, Cheltenham : Mr G. Beck, Exeter
0363 : ‘Zebra’ handbag, signed Born Free Cd : Ms J. Clendenden, Exeter
1495 :’Tiger’ Handbag : Mrs L. Robinson, Sheffield
Runner up prizes of signed lioness prints
0927: Mr Price, Stourbridge, West Midlands
0307 : K Roddis Sheffield
1571 : Mrs Woollands Heanor, Derbyshire
1736 : R. Barson, Chesterfield
0758 : P. Spooner, Sheffield