A mammoth £180,000 was raised at the Herd In The City Auction, bringing the grand total raised for the whole art trail to £580,000, giving a huge cash injection for Havens Hospices.
The Echo is a proud media partner for the event which saw 46 large elephant sculptures and 72 baby elephants sculptures become a fixture in Southend, Leigh and Shoebury throughout the summer.
The £580,000 total for Fair Havens in Southend and Little Havens children’s hospice in Thundersley, even surpasses the £447,000 raised with the Hares About Town project in 2021.
More than 120 guests attended the thrilling auction to spectate and bid on the unique pieces of art, as well as several people bidding online and via the telephone locally and across the country. Mayor of Southend Stephen Habermel and MP for Southend West Anna Firth were in attendance.
There at the event were community lead nurse Sammi Zelkin and team leader Lucy Haswell.
Sammi said: “Herd in the City has been a wonderful project and brought so much joy to so many people. It is bitter sweet to say goodbye to the beautiful elephants but the auction is a fantastic event and a great way to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices.”
Through the auction £180,000 was raised and it saw some competitive bidding to claim their favoured elephant.
Charles Hanson, known for his appearances on TV’s Bargain Hunt and Flog It! hosted the auction alongside Charlie Langhorne, director of Wild in Art and Havens Hospices Patron Su Harrison welcomed guests at the start of the night to thank everybody in the room, and those bidding online and via the telephone for their incredible support.
Rayleigh-based auctioneers, Stacey’s generously donated their time to help manage bids online and via the telephone.
The highest bid of the night went to Lot Number 23, Sharman the Starman, which sold for an impressive £20,000, which saw a standing ovation from the room. The Echo’s own beautiful gilded elephant The Lost Golden Elephant, created by artist John Bulley, went for an impressive £2,000.
Sherry Eaglestone, associate head of community development, part of the Fair Havens community team, gave a moving speech halfway through the auction. She said: “People often ask me how I do my job and my answer remains the same, ‘easily’.
"Over my career, I have met the most amazing people, not only do I help them but they help me too. Havens Hospices is a lifeline to our families. No matter who you are or where you come from, we always strive to deliver the highest standard of care to everyone, which I am immensely proud of. Without wonderful people like you, we would not be able to continue to deliver care to the people in our community.”
Visit www.havenshospices.org.uk for more information.
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