New wishing well in Sunderland's Bridges shopping centre to support Red Sky Foundation

The city’s Bridges shopping centre has teamed up with heart charity Red Sky Foundation to develop a unique, musical version of a traditional wishing well which lights up and plays music whenever a donation is made.

The idea of a multi-sensory wishing well from from Centre Director, Karen Eve after a conversation with the charity’s founder Sergio Petrucci.

Sergio, along with wife, Emma, founded Red Sky Foundation to support the Children’s Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital following their daughter’s life saving heart surgery.

Since the launch of the charity, more than £600,000 has been raised for new equipment and facilities for hospitals across the region, along with purchasing defibrillators for key North East sites.

The musical wishing well was created by Washington-based Laser Cutouts, with further support from technical experts AR Controls and Sunderland-based digital print platform, WTTB, which provided the graphics and M & N Decorators.

Visitors to the Bridges can interact with the well which arrived at the centre this week – with the hope shoppers will give generously to help the charity fund more defibrillators across the region and deliver education sessions to children and adults, teaching skills in CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

Sergio said: “[I am] so excited to see our wishing well idea come to reality. It really goes to show how the smallest idea can grow into something special and I’m really grateful to the people who’ve been a part of realising our vision.

“I’d like to thank them all for helping and particularly Karen Eve as we very much value our partnership with the Bridges. The money we’re raising is making a massive impact on heart health across the city.”

Karen added: “This project just goes to show what can be achieved when people work together. Sunderland is a hot bed of creative and entrepreneurial expertise and we were so fortunate that businesses gave not only their skills but also their time and enthusiasm to this project.

“They proved the city has heart - and that, after all, is what this is all about.”