A West Lothian couple helped to spread some cheer among critically ill children with their amazing balloon creations after being picked to travel all the way to Florida thanks to their unique skills.
Husband and wife team Janet and Bob Halliday of Artistic Balloon Décor have recently returned from a week-long trip to Orlando after they were chosen to work alongside 400 other balloon professionals from over 46 countries
They enjoyed a week of hard work and creativity during the build, which took over 15,000 hours using 500,000 biodegradable balloons.
Their creation was then handed to Give Kids the World Charity for two days of fundraising events to help with its amazing work.
The charity runs an 89-acre whimsical nonprofit village resort in Kissimmee, Florida, that provides week-long, cost-free wish vacations to critically ill children and their families from around the world who want to visit central Florida.
The couple helped to create wonderful life-size replicas of seven venues from the Give Kids the World Village, raising over $50,000 in the process.
And they paid tribute to the charity and its work in putting smiles on faces of young children who are seriously ill.
Janet, who worked with the Dino team, said: “There were a great many tears throughout the week as we got to know more about the children who have been through the village.
“A previous Wish Kid called Marc who was 10 years old had said he wasn’t afraid of dying, but he didn’t want to be forgotten.
“Marc loved dinosaurs so Stuart Davies [Big Balloon Build director] included Dino land, a venue within the village in honour of Marc. Everything created had a great deal of thought put into it, as is the case in the village.
“When one of our dinos were completed a heart-shaped balloon with Marc’s name was attached to it. There were many sad moments among the joy of the balloons– every team and balloon artist was affected by so many sad stories.”
Bob helped create Toyland and said of his experience: “There were two Wish Kids from a family who both had genetic diseases which didn’t present until the first child Travis was six years old.
“Sadly, Travis passed on and two years later his sister Amber also became ill passing away shortly after her visit.
“Give Kids the World named a Toyland area Amberville – we replicated that venue including the area’s name in balloons in her honour. It was a humbling experience for all of us.”
Bob continued: “The Balloon Wonderland was the most incredible balloon build we have been involved in yet and what made it even better is that over $52,000 was raised for Give Kids The World village
“The project was another brilliant concept by Big Balloon Build director Stuart Davies from South Wales and sponsored by Qualatex Balloon Manufacturer.”
Janet added: “We all came together as a team to create a wonderful experience to help critically ill children and their families.
“Seeing the smiles on the faces of the children as they went through the breathtaking displays was amazing.
“It was so rewarding to be part of such an incredible project – sharing our skills to help bring it all together.”
Bob and Janet have over 20 years’ experience in the balloon industry and cover not only Edinburgh and the Lothians but the whole of Scotland. They also work with a network of balloon professionals covering the UK and beyond.
For more information visit artisticballoondecor.co.uk.
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