Giant duck charity drive ends with more than £36,000 raised
A charity journey that started over a year ago with dreams of giant ducks ended last week, as a kind-hearted Telford woman handed over £36,167 raised from her community arts trail.
Julie Ward organised the Let's Go Quackers trail in Ironbridge and Telford with support from a Telford & Wrekin Council grant.
She wanted to raise money for the Severn Hospice and the Jayne Sargent Foundation, and was successful in applying for cash from the Pride in Your High Street Fund.
It meant 10 giant ducks, decorated by artists in the borough, were scattered throughout Ironbridge in the spring of 2018.
They later played a role in the Carnival of Telford Giants and were on display throughout central Telford last summer, attracting footfall from across Shropshire and beyond.
Julie said: "When awarded the funding for this project, I had a mixture of emotions - happy, excited, but also nervous. Would the public engage?
"After an overwhelming 746 design entries and sponsors flooding in we knew 2018 was going to be very special.
"We aimed to raise £18,000 for our charities, so to be able to pay over £36,167 - we are immensely proud.
"The project also increased awareness of the charities, the smiles were priceless and that feelgood factor spread around the borough throughout the year."
Mural
Julie handed the funds over to Mike Perry of the Severn Hospice and Sara Bennett from the Jayne Sargent Foundation at the Oakengates Theatre last week.
They were accompanied by other members of the Let's Go Quackers team: Anne-Marie Davies, Psyche Hudson, Lia Skelton and Richard Tart.
The project didn't finish when the ducks were auctioned off, and the organisers gifted a mural to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital in December.
It wasn't Julie's first foray into charity fundraising; she has organised events for a number of organisations since 2014.
Julie said: "We were overwhelmed at public support. Raising in excess of £36,000 for local charities was amazing but also the smiles outweigh the money and will continue forever in our hearts
"We would like to thank everyone who has supported the project in any way - donations, sponsorship, volunteering, social media support.
"Any way, you made this dream happen."
'Watch this space'
As for her next plans, Julie said: "2018 was a quacktastic year, I’m being asked 'what next?'
"The answer is watch this space. 2019 is my five year anniversary of fundraising.
"My daughter and I are currently choosing a charity to support this year, and who knows what the year will have in store?"
Mike Perry, community fundraiser at Severn Hospice, said: “£18,083.50 is such an incredible amount and will ultimately mean we can continue to offer comforting care and emotional support to local families living with incurable illnesses.
“From auctioning off the giant ducks to selling the quackers calendars – so much hard work has gone into raising the money, we’re so grateful that the team picked us as one of its chosen charities.
“It’s been great seeing the Let’s Go Quackers project become such a success and we hope the community enjoyed the art trail as much as we did.”