Pride of Yorkshire trail raises £575,000 to improve facilities at Sheffield Children's Hospital
“Not only are you now the proud owner of a unique work of art, but you’re leaving a legacy on the future of Emergency Care for children and young people for today, for tomorrow and for the next 150 years”
Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity is celebrating after its Pride of Yorkshire sculpture trail raised £575,000.
Two auctions – held both in-person at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, and online – gave members of the public and businesses the opportunity to get their paws on a piece of the Pride of Yorkshire trail, and saw over 130 sculptures go under the hammer.
The event in Sheffield welcomed special guests, including Richard Hawley, Pulp’s Nick Banks, This is England’s Thomas Turgoose, Pete McKee, Sheffield United’s Femi Seriki and Chris McClure – all of whom spoke about having tribute sculptures on the trail, and why they’re proud to support Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.
Bidders in the room and online showed their generosity, as sculptures were sold from £2,000 up to a whopping £26,000 – for which Sheffield Wednesday’s Chairman, David Storch, purchased ‘Echoes of Hillsborough’ by Zoe Burgar.
Elsewhere, those in the room had the opportunity to pledge to gift a special sculpture created in honour of the 150th anniversary of Sheffield Children’s – A Little Birdie Told Me by Zoe Genders – to the hospital.
With just a paw-ful of sculptures yet to find their forever homes, the charity will confirm the total raised from sales in the coming weeks.
The Pride of Yorkshire trail was organised to raise money towards a £20 million redevelopment of the Emergency Department at Sheffield Children’s Hospital – of which Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity is striving to raise £6.3 million.
This redevelopment will see the creation of purpose-built clinical environments, improve patient flow and reduce wait times, enhance privacy and family experiences, and create spaces for high-quality care for patients with additional needs.
Pride of Yorkshire, which saw 300 life-sized lion, lioness and cub sculptures set loose across South Yorkshire over the summer, followed in the paw prints of the Bears of Sheffield and Herd of Sheffield schemes.
The latest trail was organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
John Armstrong, Chief Executive at Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Since announcing Pride of Yorkshire in June 2025, we’ve continued to be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, engagement and level of support that South Yorkshire has shown us. This trail is our most ambitious yet, and it’s so inspiring to hear from the public how much it’s meant, their favourite place visited and which sculpture they’d have most liked to take home!
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has purchased one of our sculptures – not only are you now the proud owner of a unique work of art, but you’re leaving a legacy on the future of Emergency Care for children and young people for today, for tomorrow and for the next 150 years.