“Sky Surfing” Poetry anthology reaches £2,000 in support of Juvenile Arthritis Research

We’re thrilled to share an exciting milestone—Sky Surfing: Adventures in a Poetry Balloon, the vibrant children’s poetry anthology from The Dirigible Balloon, has now raised £2,000 in proceeds for Juvenile Arthritis Research!

Launched earlier this year to widespread praise, Sky Surfing brings together 72 poems selected from over 1,500 submissions, curated by editor Jonathan Humble. The collection features both beloved names like Michael Rosen and Philip Ardagh, as well as rising stars in children’s poetry - accompanied by beautiful illustrations from a talented range of artists.

The anthology has received glowing reviews, with The Yorkshire Times calling it a “triumph of range and depth.”

What makes this project even more special is its purpose: every penny of proceeds supports the charity Juvenile Arthritis Research who are making a difference to the lives of those with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) - a condition that affects thousands of children and young people across the UK.

The first £1,000 milestone was reached earlier this year in March and the latest proceeds of £1,000 have gone towards our urgent IT appeal to enable us to move to a new system that can accommodate the growing number of families that we support as a charity. Having outgrown our current free system that we use, we are in urgent need of upgrading as everything we do relies on the system to manage the processes behind it - from sending out our Little Box of Hope support packs to families, providing support to schools and hospitals, and arranging both online and in-person support events. The additional proceeds from Sky Surfing have made a huge impact in getting closer to our appeal target.

We’re deeply grateful to everyone who’s supported this initiative: the poets, illustrators, editor, publishers, reviewers, and of course, every reader who’s bought a copy and spread the word. This milestone is your achievement too.

We'd like to say a special thank you to Colin West. Mr West's kind generosity has been supporting this project from the outset, enabling it to happen. A very big thank you also to Jonathan Humble and to  Yorkshire Times publishing. 

Sky Surfing is still available to order via the Dirigible Balloon website at https://dirigibleballoon.org/shop

Thank you for helping us make a real difference—one poem at a time.