A ‘Kindness Pot' set up by a Bradford-based garden centre group has supported 22 local groups and donated over £1,000 in the last six months.

The Yorkshire Garden Centres (YGC) initiative was established to support local causes nominated by team members at the group's four sites at Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley.

Norristhorpe Infant and Junior School benefitted from support from the ‘Kindness Pot' after Tong Garden Centre's Gardening & Food Hall Buying Assistant, Clare Stockton, nominated her son's school for help with a gardening project.

Funds were also donated to Cavernoma Alliance UK following Group Play Manager Caroline Ellis's request after she was diagnosed with the rare disease.

The 'Kindness Pot' also gifted a hamper to Thornes Sharks Netball Club, which helped them to raise £300 towards their £3000 plus annual running costs. Tingley Garden Garden Centre's Giftware and Seasonal Manager, Lisa Passant, nominated the team as the sport and camaraderie benefit her health and wellbeing.

Other local ‘Kindness Pot' beneficiaries include SNAPS Yorkshire, which works with disabled young people and their parents; MIND Leeds and Bradford; Meanwood Valley Urban Farm and Christians Against Poverty.

"With our roots in Yorkshire, we believe in giving back, be that to our group-wide charity of the year or local causes that matter to our growing team of almost 500 people across our four sites. We want to support the causes that mean something to our team and anyone can make a Kindness Pot request for support. In fact, we've already supported over 50 community initiatives since it was introduced and this has really reinforced our sense of community," said Neil Barwise-Carr, Head of People and Culture.

This year's Charity of the Year is Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Yorkshire Garden Centres has pledged to raise £19,000 through a series of events, including a team virtual sponsored walk, a 12k mud run, a skydive, raffles, bake-off competitions and collections. To contribute to Yorkshire Garden Centres' fundraising, please visithttps://bit.ly/YGCCharity.

Since Tong Garden Centre was acquired in 2015, the team and supporters have raised over £62,500 for charity. Previous beneficiaries of the Charity of the Year initiative include Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, Luke's Lads, Butterflies Mental Health, The Cellar Trust, Candlelighters and National Literacy Trust. In addition, the team has supported hundreds of smaller charities in the local community.