Bradford Garden Centre donates bulbs and seeds to Shipley mental health charity
Published: 30 November 2020 - Neil Mead
The team at a Bradford Garden Centre have donated seeds and bulbs to a Shipley mental health charity.
Left to right Dylan Carroll, Gemma Bingham from The Cellar Trust and Jamie Maxwell Gemma Bingham with Tong team members
With the help of supplier, Westland Horticulture, Tong Garden Centre has donated over £500 worth of bulbs and seeds to The Cellar Trust that it will use to add value to planters made by clients.
The Cellar Trust is a registered charity that provides support to people recovering from mental health problems in the Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven areas. The team provides people with tailored support to help them move forward and improve their mental health and wellbeing, in a way that complements any additional support they are receiving through other services.
Gemma Bingham, Community Fundraising Lead at the Trust said: "Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we had to close our Woodwork and Horticulture departments in July but we still have a large stock of planters and bird boxes that our clients made that we are hoping to sell in our online Christmas charity shop. We are wanting to sell the planters alongside some bulbs or seeds so that people can enjoy the full gardening experience at home.
"We're so grateful to Tong and to Westland for this generous donation. This will allow a greater percentage of the profits from our online shop to go towards our life-saving mental health services that are currently busier than ever."
Phil Hemmings, Tong's garden sundries and Christmas buyer, said: "We're delighted to support the Cellar Trust and wish them all the best with their fundraising. Mental health problems affect everyone in different ways, and they can be devastating. The Trust's purpose is to support people when they face these challenges, and to empower them to move forward.
"The Trust was our charity of the year in 2017-8 and we raised over £8,500 for them and welcomed some of their clients for work experience in the garden centre, so it's a charity that is close to our hearts."
Tong Garden Centre occupies a 19 acre site in Tong village. It is one of Yorkshire's biggest independent garden centres with 125,000 square feet of retail space and parking for up to 700 cars.