Hares about Town: Raising £447,000 for Havens Hospices
We were delighted to be part of Hares about Town, a unique event for a special cause. When we heard that the art trail had raised £447,000 for local charity Havens Hospices, the Gateway team was leaping with joy.
At the end of September, Southend waved goodbye to 30 hares and 53 leverets. These giant sculptures – each one unique – had been generously created by artists and the community for locals and visitors alike to enjoy over 10 weeks in the summer. Gateway Group was proud to sponsor dapper-looking hare, ‘Mr Meadow’, while Quality Street got behind the super-sonic ‘Jet Hareplane’.
Dotted across the borough as a one-off family trail, in association with Wild in Art,
the sculptures came together for a final exhibition at Garon Park. During the weekend of 24–26 September, the public enjoyed a mini-festival, a fitting send-off before the hares were auctioned for Havens Hospices. All but one of the leverets raced back to the schools and community clubs that had created them. ‘Salvi’ the leveret was also sold.
On the auction night, bids for the hares started at £3,000. As the final hammer struck, the event had raised a staggering £225,931. What’s more, throughout the summer more than £221,000 had been collected in-kind donations as well.
Havens Hospices makes every day count, providing palliative nursing and supportive care to adults and children living with complex or incurable conditions.