40 giant elephants from LOROS Hospice’s Stomp Round Leicester art trail were auctioned off last night, raising a mammoth £286,800 for the charity.
The auction saw a plethora of bidders both online and in-person compete to take home the individually designed, hand-painted sculptures. The works of art had all been part of the Stomp Round Leicester trail which took over the city for ten weeks this summer.
The highest winning bids included £14,000 for Ellie, a life-like representation of a young African elephant by artist Amy Bourbon and £12,000 for XL, which was designed by international artist Alex Echo.
In addition, Remember Me, an elephant sculpture displaying the names of loved ones who are no longer with us, was gifted to the hospice by a host of supporters whose bids totalled £29,000.
Camilla Barrow, acting CEO at LOROS said: “We are absolutely blown away by the total raised – it’s a staggering amount and that’s all thanks to the incredible generosity of these supporters. I’d like to thank them all so much.”
The auction comes at a fortunate time as the charity faces a £2million shortfall, caused by a perfect storm of falling income and rising costs. In June it was forced to cut some of the services it offers to patients. Day Hospice nurse Amy Brown attended the auction to talk about the impact of her service on the patients she supports.
Amy said: “It’s been a really challenging summer for all of us at LOROS. The reality for people who are living with incurable disease is these aren’t just services — they’re lifelines.”
Camilla added: “Stomp Round Leicester has been an incredible journey and it’s done so much more than bring art to our city — it’s helped shine a light on hospice care at a time when we need it most.
“This magnificent total is a step towards securing our future but we still have mammoth hill to climb.”
Photo credit: Beth Walsh Photography
