Squire’s Garden Centres is inviting customers to come along to its centres on Friday 8th September to join its “Plantathon”, kick-starting a year of fundraising for its 16 Charity of the Year organisations.
Taking place from 9.30am-3.30pm, at all 16 Squire’s garden centres, the Squire’s teams – as well as charity volunteer helpers – are looking forward to welcoming customers for a fun and rewarding day planting up containers. The completed pots will be available for customers to purchase on the day, with profits going to each centre’s Charity of the Year. Customers are encouraged to come along chat, ask questions and are very welcome to pitch-in and plant-up pots too, in support of some brilliant community causes.
Each container will include a selection of autumn bedding plants grown on Squire’s own nurseries, plus a centre piece feature plant such as Hebe or Heather, all planted in peat free compost. The planted containers will be available to purchase for £10 each, representing fantastic value for money, while also helping local charities.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “We are really looking forward to hosting our Plantathon initiative, which is a wonderful way to welcome autumn planting while marking the start of our work with our 16 charities for the coming year. We would be delighted to welcome visitors to our centres to get involved or just support our teams as they make it their mission to plant as many containers as possible and raise funds for some truly important charities doing great work within our communities.
“Autumn is a gift of a season as it really is nature’s time to plant, with the perfect combination of warm soil from the summer and autumn rain – making ideal conditions for planting for autumn colour as well getting ahead for spring. The season is like starting afresh with your garden, planting to bring rich rewards throughout the coming year. So it’s timely that we start working with our new local charities for the year too, with each centre dedicated to raising much needed funds through various initiatives.”
Squire’s Garden Centres Charity of the Year programme* runs from 1st August to 31st July each year, with each centre selecting their own charity, which is local to the centre and often close to many colleagues’ hearts. Each centre works closely with their chosen charity to support their work in the local community, as well as raising awareness and much needed funds for them via special fundraising events throughout the year.”
Charity of the Year – 2023-24
Charities chosen for the coming year are:
| Badshot Lea | space2grow
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Farnham’s community wellbeing garden, connecting local people in nature. |
| Chertsey | Little Roo Neonatal Fund
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The Little Roo Neonatal Fund raises money to provide support for St. Peter’s Neonatal Unit, enabling it to continue providing the highest standards of intensive care for babies. |
| Cobham | Cobham Area Foodbank
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A project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in the local area. |
| Crawley | League of Friends Crawley Hospital
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Funds raised by the Friends help to support the hospital’s major development projects
www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/services/friends/friends-crawley-hospital.htm |
| Frensham | The Green Hub Project for Teens | The Green Hub Project for Teens is a local community project serving Surrey and Hampshire and surrounding areas, supporting teenagers facing social, emotional and mental health challenges. |
| Hersham | Elmbridge Mencap | Works independently on a local level for the benefit of people with learning disabilities and their parents/carers in Elmbridge and surrounding areas |
| Long Ditton | Princess Alice Hospice | Princess Alice Hospice is a centre for excellence, providing a range of services responding to the individual needs of patients and families. |
| Milford | The Fountain Centre | A small independent cancer charity within St Luke’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Surrey Hospital, providing holistic and emotional support and information to as many patients as possible. |
| Reigate | SASH Charity (East Surrey Hospital) | The charity for East Surrey Hospital and services provided by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Raising funds for to create great experiences for patients and staff. |
| Shepperton | Spelthorne Dementia Support | A small group of local volunteers who make a positive difference to the quality of life of people living with dementia, their carers and families. |
| Stanmore | St Luke’s Hospice | St Luke’s is a charity providing specialist end of life and palliative care to people in Harrow and Brent, enabling them to achieve the best possible quality of life. |
| Twickenham | The Friends of Anstee Bridge | Supporting vulnerable young people struggling with social, emotional and mental health through creative workshops to build confidence and resilience. |
| Washington | Rockinghorse Children’s Charity | The official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, Brighton. Raising money for life-saving equipment, projects and services for sick babies, children and young people. www.rockinghorse.org.uk/ |
| West Horsley | Oakleaf Enterprise | Oakleaf is based in Guildford offering a range of services to its clients to empower them to gain the skills, training and confidence needed to manage their mental health and return to work. |
| Woking | Quest RDA | Member of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), based in Chobham |
| Wokingham | CLASP | Supporting people with learning disabilities in the Wokingham Borough and run by its members. CLASP employs people with learning disabilities and offers voluntary opportunities. |
