DfES plant the seed of fundraising success at St Teresa's Hospice

Howard Lake | 2 August 2006 | Newswire

Approved by and distributed on behalf of St Teresa’s Hospice
Photo Caption (See attached jpg): DfES volunteers Kelly Fox and Rebecca Robins, hard at work in the Hospice garden.
NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Claire Buchan (01325) 363436
DfES PLANT THE SEED OF FUNDRAISING SUCCESS AT ST TERESA’S HOSPICE
19/07/06
Staff from the Department for Education and Skills’ (DfES’s) Protection of Vulnerable Adults Team (PoVA), based in Darlington, have transformed the outside space around St Teresa’s Hospice to make it more usable and inviting for guests and their visitors.
The 11 DfES employees spent the day weeding and planting around the Hospice entrance, as well as in a small woodland area within the Hospice grounds.
Work was also carried out to help create a sensory garden, which will stimulate the senses of staff, guests and visitors alike, and is specifically designed to be accessible for disabled guests.
All the funds for the garden make-over were generated by DFES employees, who hosted a book fair and raffle in Mowden Hall, raising a total of £305.
The PoVA employees who took part in the day were; Allison Mayston, Irene Childs, Paul Shutt, Kelly Fox, Chris Walton, Sheila Bowlby, Rebecca Robins, Paul Grief, Paul Blackett, Linda Stockton and Brian Edgar. The team were supported by Aileen Little from St Teresa’s Hospice.
Allison Mayston from the PoVA Team, said: The fundraising opportunity arose through an internal work promotion, called DfES in the Community, which is aimed at releasing talent through increasing employee volunteering. The department takes its corporate responsibility very seriously and we are encouraged to make a real difference in the communities we live and work in.
When I mentioned this to my team they thought it would be a good idea to do something that links to our work. Like PoVA, St Teresa’s Hospice serves to protect the well-being of vulnerable adults and the charity is already supported by a number of DfES employees. Therefore it seemed like most the logical choice.
It’s fair to say that our team was of varying gardening ability, but after we had finished the garden we all felt that we had really achieved something, despite the aches and pains that followed.”
Chris Walton from the Protection for Vulnerable Adults team, added: It was very rewarding to be able to help out, especially for such a worthy cause.”
St Teresa’s Hospice Director, Jane Bradshaw, said: The hard work and generosity of the PoVA team made a huge difference to our garden and the small Hospice team that take care of our grounds on a regular basis certainly appreciated the help. On behalf of all our visitors and guests, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone from the DfES who took part.”
ENDS

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.