RAISING MONEY TO HELP FEED RESCUE CATS

To buy St Valentine’s race balloons for yourself, purchase activation codes to gift to someone else, or to activate a gifted code, please scroll down this page and click on the blue box which can be found just below the the text that reads 'Share this story'.

Celia Hammond Animal Trust (Registered Charity No 293787 | www.celiahammond.org) operates throughout London and the South East helping stray, abandoned, and unwanted animals. We also provide low-cost neutering and veterinary services for animals belonging to low income pet owners at our London clinics in Lewisham and Canning Town.

The St Valentine's Virtual Balloon Race is the first fundraising event of our 40th anniversary year. The race is an environmentally friendly event that takes place online, and there are no real balloons involved.

Digital balloons cost just £3, and every purchase represents hope and helps us rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome cats in need of a second chance.

We are currently caring for more than 750 rescue cats, and it costs us £3 per day to feed each animal. Over the duration of the 7-day St Valentine’s Virtual Balloon Race, it will cost us more than £15,000 to feed all the cats in our care, and we are totally reliant upon donations from the public to support our important life-saving work.

HOW THE ST VALENTINE’S VIRTUAL BALLOON RACE WORKS

The St Valentine’s Virtual Balloon Race is a 7-day virtual (computer simulation) event where everything is real except the balloons, making it safer for the environment and for wildlife.

Each balloon costs £3. You can give your balloon a name and select its colour, shape, and pattern. You can also choose how much helium to put in and how thick you want the material to be. These decisions can help or hinder your chances of winning as the race uses real time weather data to determine the progress of each balloon. Thinner material may make your balloon lighter and faster, but it might be more likely to pop, whereas a thicker balloon may be more durable, but slower.

All balloons will be ‘launched’ virtually from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the 'City of Love, at 12 noon on Saturday 14 February 2026, and you will be able to track your balloons online throughout the race to see how they are getting on. Whichever balloon travels the furthest distance after 7-days will be declared the winner.

The race ends on our 40th Anniversary, Saturday 21 February 2026.

THE PRIZES

The St Valentine’s Virtual Balloon Race is organised by EcoRacing with numerous charitable organisations taking part. The overall winner from all entries will win £100 cash and the runner up will win an Amazon Alexa / Echo Dot 4th Generation. In addition, we will give a box of Celia Hammond Animal Trust goodies to the owner of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust balloon that travels the furthest.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED AND TAKE PART IN THE ONLINE RACE

You can buy as many balloons as you want to increase your chances of winning, and of course, indirectly donate more to support our work. You can also purchase activation codes to gift to friends, family, and work colleagues.

Proceeds from the sale of balloons and activation codes will help feed and care for the animals in our rescue centres.

For more details and to enter the race, simply click the blue buy/gift/activate button below and follow the instructions.

Please buy one or more balloons today, whether for yourself, for a friend or loved one, or in memory of someone special, as this will help us feed the rescue cats in our care.

Thank you and happy racing!

Our fundraising target is: £15000

Gross monies raised so far: £9

Supporters so far: 1

Tagged in: CeliaHammondAnimalTrust CHAT CHATballoonrace

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