British Garden Centres has presented Greenfingers Charity, with a cheque for £22,000 following a year of fund-raising at its 62 stores across the UK.

From British Garden Centres’ popular companywide Garden Re-Leaf fundraising days, raffles, bake sales, sponsored walks and cycles to marathons, everyone at the UK’s largest family-run group got behind Greenfingers Charity this year.  Director, Philippa Stubbs was delighted to present the charity’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, Linda Petronswith a substantial cheque at the Greenfingers Wing Walk in Gloucestershire.

Established in 1999, Greenfingers is a national charity dedicated to designing and creating magical, therapeutic gardens in children’s hospices across the UK. To date, they have created almost 70  garden spaces which provide a place where life-limited children, their siblings, families and carers can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of spending time outside and being close to nature.

Phillipa’s wing walk was fuelled with adrenaline-filled excitement as she took to the skies of Gloucestershire, soaring high above the countryside aboard the wings of a Stearman bi-plane with her family watching in awe below.  She said of the experience: “The wing walking challenge was a truly exhilarating and terrifying experience all in one. There were eight of us in all from all areas in the industry and we supported each other through the day. 

“The garden retail sector brings amazing things to Greenfingers Charity and they in turn do create amazing gardens in children’s hospices across the breadth of the UK. Anything we can do to make this easier really is our pleasure and is truly humbling to do.  Every moment of relief or pleasure these gardens bring to the families who turn to  hospices in their hardest times makes these fundraising events worthwhile.”

Amy Stubbs, Development and Project Manager at British Garden Centres said: “We are proud to be supporting Greenfingers Charity, an organisation that is very close to our hearts that does such vital work. The help that Greenfingers offers to children suffering from a range of challenging conditions highlights the incredible value that magical gardens and outdoor spaces add to people’s lives and, yet again, the BGC teams across the country astounded us with the variety of fundraising feats they undertook.”

Linda Petrons of Greenfingers Charity said: “We are overwhelmed by the way Phillippa, Amy and the entire British Garden Centre team have really got behind the charity once again this year behalf of us all at Greenfingers, I would like to say a huge thank you for putting the FUN into FUNdraising and for helping us to ensure more life-limited children and their families will be able to enjoy precious time outside in Greenfingers gardens, gardens in which many precious family memories will be created.”