Over the Easter weekend our brand new Grow to Give fundraising campaign was featured by a variety of national and regional press teams, including The Sunday Times and BBC Wiltshire.
Journalist Helen Davies at The Sunday Times was sure to feature it in her article aptly titled ‘The importance of a garden is being recognised now – and felt – as never before.’ In the piece, Helen noted that the importance of gardens is one of the things currently at the forefront of our collective consciousness, whilst sharing her hope that this will have an impact on the way in which we design towns and cities in future. She cited the Grow to Give campaign as a brilliant example of the sort of community spirit on show across the UK at the moment and illustrated that Horatio’s Garden has long championed the connection between wellbeing and nature for people’s physical and mental health.
Similarly, the Express & Star in Shropshire featured the campaign thanks to journalist Deborah Hardiman. Her piece explained all about the Grow to Give initiative in the hope of encouraging local fundraising support, which will help to ensure that each Horatio’s Garden receives the vital funds it needs. The article gave readers an insight into how the gardens are currently a lifeline for patients with spinal injuries across the UK and also quoted Founder & Chair of Trustees, Dr Olivia Chapple, saying “We hope the campaign will not only provide much needed donations, but that the deliveries of homegrown produce to neighbours will spread some cheer across local communities.”
The theme of the campaign being all about small acts of kindness was also picked up on by the team at BBC Radio Wiltshire. The Mid-Morning Programme got in touch to do a short interview with Olivia and were enormously enthusiastic about the Grow to Give campaign throughout the conversation. Presenter Marie asked Olivia to introduce the charity and gave her the opportunity to talk a little more about the mutual benefits of the fundraising event. Olivia described each Horatio’s Garden as a lively project and how Grow to Give is all about capturing that spirit. She shared her hope that everyone getting involved would love growing something as much as people in the gardens do and that it would offer something positive and hopeful to communities throughout the country.
To catch up on the interview, please CLICK HERE and listen from 2:49:00.
The Waitrose Weekend newspaper artfully featured the campaign too ahead of the May Day bank holiday weekend, which will hopefully be a time when many people take to their gardens. The supermarket and its shoppers have previously been incredibly generous in their support of Horatio’s Garden Stoke Mandeville as part of their Community Matters scheme, so we’re grateful to them for now spreading the word nationally.
It’s been equally wonderful to see the local community in Salisbury supporting the campaign too, with Katy Griffin of The Salisbury Journal also featuring the Grow to Give initiative. She touched upon how important people’s donations are in the current climate, particularly as people with spinal injuries are among the most vulnerable in our society currently. Her thoughtful article emphasised how just a little generosity can go a long way and that everyone has the chance to make a difference this spring and summer. Similarly, Spire FM have also featured the campaign on their website, featuring a few of our tweets to help show people how they can enjoy gardening and use their horticultural skills for good throughout the coming months.
We are grateful to everyone who spreads the word about our new campaign and hope to hear lots of your Grow to Give stories soon! To find out more about how to get involved, or to get some top tips, please CLICK HERE.
