Tom, a member of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Worldwide Board, was born without arms as a direct consequence of his mother taking the thalidomide drug during pregnancy and he grew up using his mouth and feet to do everyday tasks. Unsurprisingly, he painted that way when he developed a passion for painting as a young child and he later went on to achieve a BA in Expressive Arts from Brighton University.

The artist first became aware of the charity when he recently attended a talk given by Tina Tolley, the Head of Donor Development at Heartbeat House. This subsequently led to him offering to donate the paintings to Heartbeat, on behalf of the MFPA, which he hoped would enrich the experience of anyone staying at the facility. “I have had an incredibly full and enjoyable life, and I was raised to be socially minded, so it’s important to give back,” said Tom.

Miss Tolley said, “Heartbeat has been overwhelmed by Tom’s generosity. It’s incredible that he’s supporting our charity in this way”.

Not only will the paintings add a colourful and welcoming ambience to Heartbeat House but going forward, the charity will also offer the opportunity to anyone staying at the facility to buy the paintings, to raise funds for their vital work.

This generous gesture of support from the MFPA will not have gone unnoticed in the wider community, given the story was picked up by the Southern Daily Echo, The Hampshire Chronicle and Charity Today News during June.