Frogs hop to it to give charities £31k
THEY brightened up the summer but now the town’s resident giant frogs have hopped off for pastures new.
Eighteen of the 22 giant sculptures from Stockport’s Giant Leap Frog Art Trail have been auctioned off, making a whopping £31k for charity.
More than 100 business owners, sponsors, artists, supporters and bidders joined Simon Charles Auctioneers at LSH Auto’s Mercedes-Benz showroom.
Running concurrently online and live in the showroom, first under the hammer was Nexphibian, sponsored by Nexperia and painted by Nick Lowndes, circuiting the room before securing a forever home for £1,050.
Buster, depicting Stockport’s iconic 192 bus and fairytale character Sir Lovealot both hopped off with a £1,000 price tag while Stockport College’s Midas, Mrs Merseyway the happy shopper and BASF’s Chemit pipped them at the post for £1,100.
Sir Hopsalot went for £1,500 and Sir Norman Frogster, designed and painted by the children of Prospect Vale Primary, is guaranteed his place at the school after a generous bidder donated a whopping £2,300.
But it was the final trio that attracted the highest bids - Fanatical Freddie selling for £3,000, Marketing Stockport’s Strawberry Fields for £4,800 and Edgeleap for £5,000.
All the money raised will go to Stepping Hill’s Tree House children’s ward.
Deputy matron Claire Gibson said she was ‘thrilled’ by the sum raised, adding: “We are so very grateful and excited about what this means for the children and young people who use the Treehouse Children’s Unit.
“The proceeds far exceeded any of our expectations and we are awestruck at the possibilities that such a large donation opens up to us.”
Sponsored by local businesses, the frogs were the brainchild of Totally Stockport, the team from Stockport’s Business Improvement District (BID).
Totally Stockport’s BID manager Paul Taylor said: “When we first conceived the idea of the frog project, we never imagined just how successful it has been; over the summer thousands came to Stockport to follow the trail and discover all the frogs.
“To end the project with such a fantastic auction is truly amazing. On behalf of everyone involved, I would like to say a huge thank you to the sponsors, artists, local businesses who have supported us.
“LSH Mercedes-Benz Stockport have been fantastic and hosted a great evening and the team from Simon Charles Auctioneers gave their time for free. I really can’t thank them all enough.”