1,000 origami cranes for Children’s Cancer North

As part of their Paint The Toon Gold campaign, Enigma Interactive have created a tribute to families affected by childhood cancer across the North East and Cumbria.

The exhibition of 1,000 origami cranes, on display during September, is celebrating Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Enigma Interactive are supporting Children’s Cancer North as our charity of the year for 2026. This is in memory of Ian Birtwistle, a much-missed Enigma colleague, and a former trustee of Children’s Cancer North. This is one of many activities we’ve been doing in 2026 – from wearing hats, to reading books – to raise money and awareness for this brilliant charity.

Across July and August, and inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, our team folded 1000 paper cranes, coloured gold to represent the awareness ribbon for childhood cancer.

Sadako was only two years old when the first atomic bomb devastated Hiroshima, and she developed leukaemia having been exposed to the radiation. Aged 12, she began folding 1000 origami cranes (or senbazuru) wishing for better health. Today, these origami cranes have become an international symbol of hope, healing and peace.

On 1 September, we installed all 1,000 cranes in a display at One Strawberry Lane in Newcastle. It’s free to view throughout this month. We also painted their windows to mark the exhibition! We hope that this encourages people to stop and reflect, as well as raising awareness of the charity and hopefully raising some money too!

And you can also get involved. At One Strawberry Lane, make a donation and pick up a 3D printed golden crane to take away with you. And we’d love to see you at our event:

Make an origami crane

Date: Wednesday 9th September 2026

Time: 1 – 2pm

Come and learn to make your own origami cranes with Enigma Interactive, and chat to Children’s Cancer North and find out more about the charity’s work. Free, no booking required.

Children's Cancer North is dedicated to making life better for children with cancer across the North East and Cumbria. Around 100 children from across the region are newly diagnosed with cancer every year and come to the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle for their treatment. Children's Cancer North aims to improve their quality of life through transforming the environment and play experience on the wards, providing access to potentially life-saving clinical trials and funding revolutionary research to find more effective treatments.

Make a donation online via JustGiving

Find out more about Children’s Cancer North and Paint The Toon Gold