Freedom in the Air is very proud to have Gini Lawson volunteer to do an awareness raising event for our work. You may support her to get a film produced of her wing walk.
EVENT: WING WALK | DATE: 23 JUNE 2012 | LOCATION: MEMBURY AIRFIELD | TIME 13:00
You might be wondering why someone who is scared of heights is doing this… it has crossed her mind many times, but the link below explains her motivations, and she wouldn’t be doing this and asking you to sponsor her for it if it wasn’t for a very very good reason.
http://www.trinityhospice.org.uk/news/trinity-makes-young-mans-dying-wish-fly-come-true
This is all connected to her work as an art therapist at hospices, specifically with her work with one young man. He made a painting called ‘flying towards God’ and wanted to fly a plane before he died. FITA helped GINI make his dying wish come true. This young man was incredibly brave as he approached his death, and inspired Gini to be brave in her life. FITA and their team of instructors not only allowed the flight to go ahead, but covered all the costs, and made it happen straight away as there was no time to lose.
If you feel inspired to be generous with your money, please click on the link below, which will take you straight to Gini’s paypal donation page. Your kind donations will NOT be used to pay for her wingwalk, and all the monies raised will go directly to giving disabled youngsters free flying lessons through our Freedom Wings program and launching the new Freedom hand controls for pilots with lower limb disabilities. On behalf of all the children whose lives you will be helping to change through your support .
THANK YOU. Service above Self.
Short videos on projects funds are being raised for: Freedom Wings and Freedom hand control:
A little about our fundraising hero:
Gini Lawson was born in 1977 into a loving family in the valleys of South Wales. She was brought up to believe in kindness and compassion for all beings. Her parents have dedicated much of their lives to animal welfare, and whilst Gini is passionate about animals, she has an even greater love for people. Her family are artistic, and with a working class belief that education matters, it was almost inevitable that she would study fine art painting and printmaking to degree level, graduating in 1999. During her training she suffered a bereavement, and used her creativity to not only help her through grief, but to understand it too. She became interested in theory around loss and grief, and this lead her to discover the theory of art therapy.
Gini worked all through her education to support herself financially, but found that when she returned to Wales, it was hard to find meaningful work. She trained in counselling, and in youth and community work, and she volunteered with an addictions clinic until being employed as a creative therapies worker. She worked with individuals using the arts to overcome addictions and their underlying problems. Alongside this, she ran a youth club in her local area and she worked in a secure unit for young offenders as an artist. She then went on to work in a strategic position developing services for children and young people, but missed having a direct connection with people, and realised that she needed to work in a much more hands on role.
She went on to work as an artist within a team of other artists with the vision to regenerate disadvantaged communities through the arts, and to increase self esteem and confidence in individuals. She worked in a prison, in refuges, in a psychiatric hospital, in a general hospital, with ethnic minority groups, homeless people, with families, schools and care homes. Her arts skills diversified during this time, and she flourished in a team that was creative and innovative. Gini was part of a pioneering project with asylum seekers and refugees, working alongside an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist. This connection lead her to work as project co-ordinator for an arts therapies charity that works in the UK and overseas to alleviate suffering. Gini left all this behind when she fell in love and moved to London in 2006.
Gini had a desire to work in a hospice, and discovered an opportunity to work as an artist within a growing and innovative arts team at St Christopher’s which is the birthplace of the modern hospice movement. She had suffered other bereavements, and felt inspired by the way that the hospice staff managed death and dying. She also started a masters degree in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy, graduating in 2010, the same year that she got married. She was promoted to art therapist in the same year.
Gini is now registered with HPC (the health professions council), BAAT (the british association of art therapists) and UKCP (the united kingdom council for psychotherapy). Gini currently works with patients, carers and bereaved people at St Christophers Hospice using a combination of group work and individual work. She also works in people’s own homes and at the bedside. In 2011 Gini worked on a project in partnership with David Hockney and the Royal Academy of Arts, and patients, carers and bereaved people had their artwork exhibited there. She has had some of her written work published on arts in end of life care. Gini also currently works as an art therapist at Trinity Hospice and has set up an arts therapies service within a new out patients service. Gini feels honoured to be in the privileged position to be alongside people as they approach the end of their lives. She hopes to change public attitudes towards death, dying and bereavement. She also believes that the arts play an important role in death education.
Throughout, Gini has continued to paint, although work and post graduate studies have taken her focus. Her most recent exhibition was in 2011 which was part of a group exhibition organised by BAAT.
