It?s just over a month until the gardening industry bursts into combined promotional activity by celebrating Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day on Friday 17th March 2017. OK, the event was created to benefit our favourite gardening charity, but don?t forget that at the same time garden centres, growers, suppliers and trade associations all benefit from the combined effort to start the gardening season with a huge bang.
In 2016 Greenfingers Charity benefited by more than ?140k – the most successful Garden Re-Leaf Day ever. This year Garden Re-Leaf is set to break that record again thanks to a great variety of FUNdraising ideas.
There are lots of ways to get involved, but here?s a couple of ideas to whet your appetite?
Idea 1 – 24 hour plant-athon
Last year, Studley GC, Altons GC, Squire?s GC, Fryers GC and Byrkley Park Garden Centre created amazing publicity and raised loads of money using 24 Hour Plant-athon promotions.
Bob Hewitt, chairman of Klondyke Group: ?Having taken part in the 24 hour Plant-athon in 2016, I urge garden retailers and suppliers to get involved in this huge opportunity to connect with staff and customers whilst raising significant funds for Greenfingers Charity.?
This year we have heard that Bob Hewitt of Klondyke Garden Centres and Alan Roper?s team at Trentham Garden Centre, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs will be planting through the night again;? a relay team from Scotsdales Garden Centre, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire and Orchard Park in Dorset are the latest to sign up, with more expected to follow between now and the 17th March.? But time is running out!? If your garden centre is looking to register for Garden Re-Leaf Day, contact Linda at Greenfingers as soon as possible, by email linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk or by calling the Greenfingers office on 01494 674749.
So how about you? Why don?t you invite your customers, colleagues and friends to support you as you and your staff continuously plant up pots for 24 hours? Your local media will love the story and your customers will love buying your spring planted pots for charity.
Idea 2 – Take a walk along the cam
Why not organise a run or take part in Greenfingers Charity?s Garden Re-Leaf Day Walk which is organised to raise money for Greenfingers.? This year?s walk will be held in Cambridge thanks to the sponsorship of Scotsdales Garden Centre, where more than 80 industry friends have already signed up to the 20-mile walk.
Garden Re-Leaf Day founder, Boyd Douglas Davies has dusted down his walking shoes this year and will be joined by Greenfingers Ambassador?s Trevor Pfeiffer, Simon Quinton Smith, and Vicky Nuttall, along with teams from Scotsdales, Briers, Westland, Cadix, Elho, SBM Life Sciences, Mr Fothergill?s, Kelkay, Gardman, Glee, Deco-Pak and many others to walk the 20 mile route, between Scotsdales sites at Horningsea to Great Shelford, via the centre of Cambridge passing through Jesus College and the famous Botanical Gardens.
An extra to this year?s Industry walk is that Heidi Towse will be rowing the route on a static machine at Scotsdales and we will be inviting members of the public and local rugby and rowing clubs to get involved. Hopefully this will generate loads of publicity for all those taking part as Greenfingers Charity is publicising the event with a headline that claims ?Free gardening advice for Cambridge walkers?.
Among the non-industry walkers will be a team from Kew Green Hotel Management Service who have selected Greenfingers as their chosen charity for 2017. Each of the 55 hotels in the group are currently raising funds in various exciting ways but a volunteer walking team from their Holiday Inn hotel in Derby will be at the start of the Cambridge walk on 17th March. Other Kew Green staff, this time from the Holiday Inn, Colchester will be organising a Quiz evening as their contribution to Garden Re-Leaf Day.
There are plenty of places for a refreshing rest so why not join us for a stroll through this beautiful city and raise money for Greenfingers.
Other Ideas
Alan Down, owner of Cleeve Nurseries, Bristol, will be opening the gates to his private collection of Hellebores to small groups of gardeners on Garden Re-Leaf Day to raise funds for Greenfingers Charity. As a regular broadcaster on Radio West and BBC Radio Bristol, plus writer of a regular page in the Western Daily Press, Alan is sure to be able to drum up enough interest to keep busy all day with small groups being shown round every 15 minutes. Thanks Alan – very much appreciated!
And we see that Millbrook Garden Centre, Gravesend, Kent are hosting a whole weekend of activities to raise funds for Greenfingers Charity. Their web site tells us some of their planned activities including a coffee and cake morning on Re-Leaf day and a bubbly evening reception plus interesting talk from horticulturist and plant hunter, Tom Hart-Dyke, described as the ?new David Bellamy?.? Throughout Saturday staff will carry out planting demonstrations of containers and with a finishing raffle to end the 18th March.? Children?s face painting and craft activities will be available throughout Saturday and Sunday and visits to ?Our Amazing Animal World? will include a meet with Henry the hedgehog and Felipe the chameleon.
Don’t forget to tell Greenfingers Charity your promotional plans and they will help you with your publicity.
To find out how you can get involved contact Greenfingers Charity by email: info@greenfingerscharity.org.uk or by calling the Fundraising Team on 01494 674749
