Support garden centres’ charity of the year programme and get involved in fundraising for local causes
Squire’s Garden Centres is inviting customers to come along to its centres on Friday, 6th September to join its charity Plantathon and help support Squire’s year of fundraising for its local charity organisations, marking the start of its Charity of the Year programme.
Taking place from 10am-3pm, at 15 of Squire’s garden centres**, the Squire’s teams at each centre – 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, between 10am-3pm, with profits from the sale of each container going to each centre’s Charity of the Year (see list below).
Customers are encouraged to come along and support – to chat, ask questions – and are very welcome to pitch-in and plant-up pots too, in aid of some brilliant community causes close to each centre.
Each container will include a selection of autumn bedding plants, a centre piece feature plant, plus some daffodil bulbs to bring added cheer in spring (early September is the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs), all planted in peat free compost. The planted containers will be available to purchase for £12 each, representing fantastic value for money, while also helping local charities.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “We are looking forward to hosting our Plantathon initiative once again this year! It’s a wonderful way to welcome the autumn planting season, while marking the start of our work with our local charity partners for the next 12 months.
“We would be delighted to welcome visitors to our centres to get involved and help plant their own pot up – or just pop along and show their support for our colleagues and charity, which is local to the centre and often close to the hearts of many colleagues. Each centre works with their chosen charity to support their activities in the local community, as well as raising awareness and much needed funds at special evens throughout the year.
Charity of the Year – 2024/25
Charities chosen for the coming year are:
| Badshot Lea | space2grow | Farnham’s community wellbeing garden, connecting local people in nature. space2grow.space |
| Chertsey | Little Roo Neonatal Fund | 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. ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk/littleroo |
| Cobham | Cobham Area Foodbank | A project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in the local area. cobhamarea.foodbank.org.uk |
| Crawley | Age UK Crawley Branch | Offering services for older people, their families and their carers ageuk.org.uk/westsussexbrightonhove/activities-and-events/crawley/ |
| 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. greenhub.org.uk/ |
| Hersham | Home-Start Elmbridge | Working alongside families to give compassionate and confidential support for parents and their children. homestartelmbridge.org.uk |
| Long Ditton | Walton Charity | A local charitable foundation, working with the community and local partners, aiming to build an Elmbridge community free from poverty and that thrives waltoncharity.org.uk |
| 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. fountaincentre.org/ |
| 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. sashcharity.org/ |
| 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. spelthorne-dementia-support.org.uk/ |
| 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. stlukes-hospice.org/ |
| Twickenham | HomeLink | A local charity dedicated to the wellbeing of older people and their unpaid carers. homelinkdaycare.co.uk/ |
| 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. 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. oakleaf-enterprise.org |
| Woking | Woking & Sam Beare Hospice | A charity that cares for thousands of patients and their carers and families each year, specialising in holistic care for patients with life-limiting and terminal illness. wsbh.org.uk/ |
| 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. claspwokingham.org/ |
