What Inspired Ayla to create
The Fiver Challenge
In 2021, whilst receiving and recovering from treatment for a malignant brain tumour, Ayla was provided with a home tutor for three hours a week through CHES, The Community and Hospital Education Service.
With the tutor and as part of her home schooling, she was entered for the Young Enterprise Fiver Challenge. The Challenge asked Ayla to set up a business with only £5.00.
She had to choose a name, design a logo, do market research, create and launch a product with the aim of making a profit!
Ayla launched Ayla’s Arts and ended up winning the 9-11 Inspiring Individual award, which in 2021 had over 26,000 applicants.
WINNER
The Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal
During a planned theatre admission in Bristol, Ayla saw a poster asking for donations of equipment for the play teams. Instantly, she turned to her mum and said: “I want to help” she then started to use her profits from Ayla’s Arts to donate.
The hospital play teams helped Ayla through some of the darkest and most challenging moments of treatment.
Ayla now wanted to help other children in similar situations.
Target £2000
Ayla set herself a personal fundraising target of £2000. This money was specifically for the Ocean and Starlight wards at Bristol Children’s Hospital, which are to support children with cancer.
Ayla wanted to give back to the play teams that had PERSONALLY connected with her DURING HER TREATMENT.
Smashed iT!
After achieving her target, she decided that she would now give all her profits to all the wards and play teams within the hospital. She didn’t feel that any child should miss out, but she knew she couldn’t do this alone!
Ayla approached the Play Team and The Grand Appeal asking for the patients’ help, so they could also create the pictures in hospital, giving them something fun and exciting to do!
- Ayla’s Arts provides the teams with all the equipment required
- The children have the choice to keep their ARTistic creations or have them framed and donate them to Ayla’s Arts
-The donated framed pictures are then taken over to The Grand Appeal shop and sold, with the money coming back into the program
AN AYLA’S ART trollY NOW VISITS Apollo, Starlight, Ocean, Penguin, Dolphin, Bluebell, Sunflower, Caterpillar and Lighthouse wards in the hospital each week!
tough times won’t stop ayla
In February 2023 Ayla went for a routine MRI and unfortunately, they had found a new small mass.
Ayla had to return to Bristol Children’s Hospital for further brain surgery.
She currently requires no further treatment, but is being monitored very closely and remains as optimistic as she can at this stage.
winner
make a difference awards 2023
In April 2023 Ayla was nominated by The Grand Appeal for the BBC Radio Cornwall Make a Difference Fundraiser Award and was shortlisted down to the final four in her category.
She attended the award ceremony…. and WON!
Letter from the Palace!
what the future holds
AYLA THE FUNDRAISER
Looking to the future, Ayla is desperate to continue her fundraising for the hospital play teams. She wants to take her pocket pictures on more big adventures – and continue providing children with Art Therapy at Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Ayla’s long-term vision is for other children’s pocket pictures to have “big adventures” too. She wants to help poorly children create a pocket picture, donate it to Ayla’s Arts – and then display the art in each child’s dream location.
How will this work? Children complete a form, detailing the dream location for their artwork to end up. It’s then linked to Ayla’s Arts website and Instagram page to help make each child’s dream a reality.
This will not only give poorly children the chance to enjoy art therapy in hospital. It will also enable them to dream big in a room that is often so small and cut off from the outside world.
AYLA THE ARTIST
Ayla is also planning for her own future by creating various gifts with her artwork, this will hopefully enable her to follow her current dream of working with and helping animals.
She hopes that by making enough money through her art sales and gifts she will be able to work voluntarily, gaining the experience she needs with animals before entering into training and eventually a career.