The doors might be closed on the 2022 edition of Glee, but the generosity of visitors and exhibitors alike continues to echo as the show’s latest initiative ‘Giving at Glee’, designed to protect the planet and raise vital funds for the Greenfingers Charity, unveils its impact.
Grow My Tree
Launched as part of Glee’s ‘Power of One’ programme - which looks to empower change and action by encouraging individuals to make small changes that add up to more significant positive changes for the planet – Grow My Tree saw Glee join with its first official climate change partner. Through this partnership, everyone attending Glee was given a chance to plant a tree free of charge within one of Grow My Tree’s local operator territories, including Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
Since June, over 204 trees have been planted on behalf of Glee attendees, together helping to offset over 4,488kgs of C02 annually and providing 2.4 days of work for those within the global south communities supported by Grow My Tree.
With the Grow My Tree in its infancy at Glee, these numbers are expected to rise as more and more visitors take advantage of the accessibility of this initiative to fight climate change.
Raising funds for Greenfingers
As the industry’s chosen charity, Glee is a hotbed of fundraising activity for the Greenfingers Charity. Whether it’s Floral Thursday, where the show is awash with floral attire, or show specials where fundraising products are launched, Glee’s exhibitors and visitors go above and beyond for the national children’s hospice garden charity.
This year, entrants to the Glee New Product Showcase were given the opportunity to donate their products to Greenfingers, with the charity’s auction partners, W & H Peacocks, placing the donations under the gavel to raise much-needed funds. With brands such as Kent & Stowe, Elho, Evergreen Garden Care, AMES UK, Woodlodge, Gardman, Westland and many more, kindly offering their products for auction, it comes as no surprise that the Glee New Product Showcase auction raised over £1,200 for Greenfingers.
The fundraising total for this year’s Floral Thursday – the biggest one yet – is set to be revealed shortly. Watch this space for more information.
Talking post-show regarding ‘Giving at Glee’, Glee Event Director, Matthew Mein said: “As an exhibition organiser, we feel it is our responsibility to provide the opportunity for our audience to engage with initiatives that uphold important standards. We believe these latest additions to our offering are invaluable yet representative of a much longer journey we want to take Glee on. We must thank every single person that got involved in Grow My Tree and fundraising for Greenfingers, and we look forward to building on this as we look ahead to the 2023 event.”
Find out more
Glee is the UK’s leading garden retail show, focussing on building year-round profits for buyers and suppliers within the core gardening and outdoor leisure product categories. To keep up to date on the latest Glee news visit www.gleebirmingham.com. To enquire about exhibiting at Glee 2023, which will take place June 27th – 29th, please call +44 (0)203 3545 9752.
