This Garden Re-Leaf Day (March 18th) the teams from Kelkay, La Hacienda and Apta – part of the AMES UK family – will be “freezing” their businesses, switching off their computers and picking up their spades as part of a special volunteering day to kickstart AMES UK’s exciting new charity partnership with Greenfingers.
To-date over 115 members of AMES UK have confirmed their attendance at this special team-building and fundraising experience, which will see them scattered across the country to attend nine children’s hospices; hospices that have previously enjoyed the introduction of a therapeutic garden space designed and funded by the Greenfingers charity.
Throughout the day the AMES UK teams will be joined by the hospice staff and on-site gardening teams to breathe new life into these garden spaces, many of which have not been updated for several years. From an overall spring clean to introducing new planting schemes and ensuring the site is ready to thrive throughout the coming seasons, the time spent will pay dividends for those children who call these hospices home, as well as the families and staff who visit these spaces to remember lost loved ones.
Talking about the day, AMES UK’s Managing Director, Paul North, said: “We are passionately committed to supporting the Greenfingers charity and have big plans for doing so over the coming years, but what better way to truly kickstart this new partnership than on Garden Re-Leaf Day 2022! We are truly honoured to be able to visit a selection of hospice gardens that have previously enjoyed the benefits of the incredible work Greenfingers does, and to help breathe new life into them ahead of the season.
“Not only this but getting out of the office will also benefit our staff, many of whom have not previously met face-to-face because of the pandemic. We talk often in our business about the positive mental and physical wellbeing that gardening can provide, so being able to put this into practice will undoubtedly boost staff morale and provide a better understanding of why gardening remains one of the nation’s most popular hobbies.”
The Greenfingers gardens set to get the special AMES UK treatment will be Andy’s at St Andrew’s Hospice, Grimsby; Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Huddersfield; Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, Loughborough; Ty Hafan, South Wales; Richard House Children’s Hospice, London; Keech Hospice Care, Luton; EACH The Treehouse, Ipswich; EACH Milton, Cambridge; and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice, Carlisle.
Paul North added: “We are extremely excited to get on site on March 18th, and hope that this will be the first of many such days. We also strongly urge other brands to think about volunteering time to helping Greenfingers onsite at both new and existing garden builds. It really is a superb way to support the charity that remains at the very heart of our industry.”
Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Greenfingers, said: “Our sincerest thanks to AMES UK for their incredible generosity of spirit, manpower and, of course, fundraising. The Garden Re-Leaf ‘give back’ day will be a truly wonderful experience, and we are also so excited to see how this new partnership grows and develops in the coming years.”
