Open gardens to bloom in support of hospice

Maureen and Andrew Winskill (owners of Orchard House, Cuckfield) with members of staff from St Peter & St James Hospice and Lloyds Banking Group

During the summer, over 60 gardens will be open to the public for everyone to enjoy a lovely day out, and all are encouraged to visit the different locations in support of the hospice.

With gardens being opened in Hurstpierpoint, Lindfield, Cuckfield, Twineham, Uckfield, Plumpton, Ansty, Maresfield, Ardingly, Scaynes Hill, Burgess Hill, Keymer, Ditchling and Newtimber, it is hoped that more people than ever will visit one of the stunning gardens nearby.

Last year, the Open Gardens Programme raised £20,000. All the hospice services are free of charge to patients and St Peter & St James receives 14% of its funding from the Government, so needs to raise £2.6m each year.

Lloyds Banking Group is sponsoring the Open Gardens 2016 Programme and this financial support is vital to the hospice for planning events because it means that the additional funding covers the cost of the promotional material, meaning that the money raised at the event can all be used for providing the vital services to the community.

Giles Witcomb, head of fundraising at St Peter & St James Hospice, said: “This year, we’re extremely fortunate in having over 60 gardens taking part in the programme. It’s great having the support of so many garden openers and I encourage everyone to look at our website for details about the gardens. You can also pick up an Open Garden leaflet from any of our eight shops or the reception at the hospice.

“Having the support of Lloyds Banking Group means a lot to us because it means that any money saved from promoting the event can be used to fund our vital services.”

Sandra Holman, senior manager at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “St Peter & St James Hospice provides phenomenal and much needed support to our local community. We are very proud that our support means that all monies raised will go directly to this great charity. At the same time, this opportunity contributes towards Lloyds Banking Group delivering it’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan which supports over 2.3m hours of colleague volunteering hours by 2020.”

The information on all the different gardens can be found at www.stpeter-stjames.org.uk/events