Sue Allen was confirmed as chairman of the Greenfingers Charity at its last week, when a new-look board was also introduced.
During his four years in the role, outgoing chairman John Ashley was instrumental in the further development of the charity, overseeing the completion of 10 gardens at UK children’s hospices, with four more in the planning; the launch of the ‘Million Moments’ campaign, which reached its £1million fundraising targetl in under three years; the launch of the Chairman’s Fundraising Dinner at the RAF Club, which has raised over £100,000 in three years; the appointment of patrons Ann-Marie Powell and Adam Frost; the development of the Greenfingers Charity brand, and the award-winning Greenfingers garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.
Sue Allen is a well-known face in the garden retail industry, having established Millbrook Garden Centres in 1979 with her late husband, Dick. Now that the businesses are run by her extended family, Sue splits her time between the board of trustees for the Garden Centre Association, chairmanship of the GCA Trust and now, Greenfingers.
Sue, who has been involved with Greenfingers for more than 20 years, said she was excited to be guiding the charity over the next four. “From the development of fundraising opportunities, to building the Greenfingers brand nationwide, and encouraging our ambassadors and supporters to engage with us even more – the potential for growth is significant. I can’t wait to get started!” she added.
The AGM saw three trustees step down at the end of their tenure –post Scotsdale’s Caroline Owen, Dennis Espley (previously MD of Squire’s, now Non-Executive Chair of the Tillington Buying Group) and Carol Paris, CEO of Somerton Group,. Two new trustees – Tammy Woodhouse, MD of Millbrook Garden Centres, and Richard Capewell – joined the board.
Linda Petrons, director of fundraising and communications, said: “On behalf of all of us at Greenfingers we’d like to thank John for everything he has done for the charity during his time as chairman. He has been a wonderful part of our development over the last four years and will be missed. We are of course excited to have Sue on board and look forward to seeing how we can move forward under her guidance.
“I’d also like to thank those trustees who have come to the end of their term. Their input has been invaluable, and I hope they will continue to support Greenfingers in the future.”
A review of Highlights of 2019 and preview of plans for 2020 included:
- Almost £550,000 raised through FUNdraising activites
- Four new gardens completed at Grace House (Sunderland), Little Harbour (St Austell), Richard House (London), and Claire House (Wirral).
- Five new gardens set to be completed in 2020 at Haven House (Essex), Rainbow House (Loughborough), The Nook (Norfolk), St Oswald’s (Newcastle) and Ty Hafan (Vale of Glamorgan).
- Kew Green Hotel’s support of Greenfingers as its chosen charity will continue in 2020. To date staff in hotels across the country have raised over £380k.
- The team at STIHL raised over £10,000 in 2019 through a range of FUNdraising initiatives.
- New charity partnership with Clarins UK, which has chosen Greenfingers as its new charity partner
- Garden Re-Leaf Day 2020 – new teams signing up for the Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge, plus retailers thinking of new and exciting ways to get involved.
- The ‘Monte Carlo or Bust’ Rally race which will see teams travel through six countries in a £500 ‘banger’ as part of a FUNdraising adventure.
- The New Summer Ball at Barton Grange will be making its debut this June.
- Floral Thursday at Glee will return, though this year we hope to see many others ‘going floral’ for Greenfingers on 17 September.
- The GIMA Golf Day
…and the continuation of the Chairman’s Fundraising dinner at the RAF Club in London 3 November.
