Bradford Garden Centre raises over £6,700 for its Charity of the Year through sponsored walk

A team at a Bradford Garden Centre walked the equivalent of Tong to Paris to raise funds for its Charity of the Year.

13 team members from Tong Garden Centre came together during Mental Health Awareness Week with family and friends to do a sponsored walk to raise funds for Forget Me Not Children's Hospice in Huddersfield.

The Charity of the Year fundraising is managed by a committee led by the People and Culture team at the Tong Lane site. Tong's People, Culture and Sustainability Business Partner, Steph Bates said: "We have set ourselves the challenge to raise £10,000 this year for the hospice and have a range of events planned from raffles, walks and silent auctions. We were inspired to raise money for Forget Me Not by one of our team members, Michael Bowersafter the hospice gave Michael and his family a chance to make memories with their beautiful son, Teddy.

"Our fundraising target for the sponsored walk was £5,000, so we're over the moon that we exceeded our target by over a third to an outstanding £6,743. The theme of this year'sMental Health Awareness Week was Loneliness and we encouraged team members to share the occasion of the walk with friends, family and colleagues.

"This is our flagship fundraiser for the year, so we reached out to suppliers for support and were humbled by their generosity. From generous financial donations to fruit for the walk from First Choice and a welcome Cook meal and Wold Top beer for all the walkers, we are so grateful for the part that they played in this fundraiser."

Michael Bowers was one of the walkers, as was Tong's MD, Mark Farnsworth with daughter, Jessica: "It was great to spend the day with team members from all departments and their friends and family, and even better to have raised so much for the hospice that gave Michael such comfort."

More fundraising events are planned throughout the year including a Father's Day hamper raffle and fundraising fitness classes. To contribute to Tong's fundraising, please visithttps://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tgc2022

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. It will open its second garden centre at Tingley, South Leeds in autumn 2022 and has applied to Leeds City Council for planning permission for a third site at Thorp Arch, Wetherby.

Ends

Photograph caption:Sponsored walkers from Tong Garden Centre raised over £6700 for Forget Me Not children's hospice Walkers from Tong Garden Centre raised £6700

For more information or to arrange an interview with Steph Bates, please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on:

Direct line:01430 871360

Mobile:07971 961574

E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk

Notes to editors

1. Since Tong Garden Centre was acquired by new owners in 2015, the team and supporters have raised almost £50,000. Previous beneficiaries of Tong's Charity of the Year initiative include Luke's Lads,Butterflies Mental Health, The Cellar Trust, Candlelighters and National Literacy Trust. In addition, the team has supported hundreds of smaller charities in the local community. For more information about Tong Garden Centre, please visit http://www.tonggardencentre.co.uk
2. For more information about Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, please visithttps://www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/
3. Forget Me Not Children's Hospice was nominated by Michael Bowers from Tong's warehouse team after the hospice gave Michael and his family a chance to make memories with their beautiful son, Teddy. Teddy Bear Bowers was born on August 2nd, 2019. Four days after birth, he was diagnosed with inoperable Atrioventricular Septal Defect and Teddy was transferred to Forget Me Not Children's Hospice which gave Teddy onsite medical care and a place for Teddy and his family to enjoy their last few days together. Teddy sadly passed away on August 10^th. Since Teddy's passing, Michael and Xena have continued raising awareness for FMN- even setting up Teddy Bear Rocks- an awareness imitative whereby printed and painted rocks are hidden anywhere in the world- when they're found, it leads them back to Teddy Bear Rocks Facebook page to spread awareness of the hospice and their great work. https://www.facebook.com/groups/402819000363824