Following the success of Grosvenor’s fundraising bake sale last year, the team on Wrexham Road in Belgrave has once again marked National Baking Week (17th – 23rd October) by donning their aprons and raising their rolling pins for Claire House Children’s Hospice, the Garden Centre’s adopted charity for 2011.

With goodies ranging from muffins to cheese and ham pinwheels to rocky roads, cookies to doughnuts – each item was sold in the staff room for a nominal donation, raising a grand total of £65 raised during National Baking Week.

And Grosvenor’s Cafe joined in too by creating a special Claire House cupcake with all proceeds from each sale donated to the children’s hospice in Bebington.

The team bake sale and the special creation in the Cafe are the latest in a series of fundraising activities undertaken by Grosvenor in support of Claire House this year - all embarked on and supported by staff at Grosvenor.

“The enthusiasm for the week’s sale was fantastic with members of the team kindly donating their time and home baked cakes and savouries towards the cause.  And our grateful thanks also go to everyone who supported the initiative in the Cafe - the Claire House cupcake was a particular favourite during National Baking Week,” said Jenny Carr, customer services supervisor and organiser of Grosvenor’s bake sale.
 
“We would like to thank the Garden Centre and all the staff for their continued support and dedication to our wonderful children’s Hospice.

At Claire House, we all really appreciate the way in which everyone at Grosvenor are so positive and motivated to help us towards raising the £2.5million we need each year to provide the specialist quality and care to our children and their families, both at the Hospice and within their own homes.

The public are generally not aware that nearly 20% of our children come from the Cheshire area so it is especially important to us to have been chosen as the Grosvenor Garden Centre’s Charity,” commented Abi Smith, area fundraising manager, Claire House Children’s Hospice.

We had a great response to our efforts to raise funds and awareness of Jeans for Genes Day (Friday 7th October) with members of the team here at Grosvenor swapping their usual trousers for jeans for the day.  Each made a donation to the charity – and we were thrilled to raise the sum of £54! 

Our £54 will help fund care and support for children with genetic disorders and research development of treatments and cures.

Next year, Jeans for Genes Day will take place on Friday 5^th October, so please encourage your friends and workmates to take part too.  All you need to do is swap your usual trousers for jeans and donate to this worthy cause.  It really could not be easier.

See http://www.jeansforgenesday.com/aboutjeansforgenesday for further information.

And put the date in your 2012 diary to support us again next year!

Members of the team at Grosvenor Garden Centre have marked National Baking Week (18^th – 24^th October) with a ‘bake and share’ sale to raise money for Claire House Children’s Hospice, the garden centre’s adopted charity for 2010.

The sale offered goodies ranging from cupcakes to fruit loaf, roly poly to sausage rolls - all of which were sold for a nominal donation with a total of more than £140 raised through the week.  

The ‘bake and share’ sale is the latest in a series of fundraising activities undertaken by Grosvenor in support of Claire House this year and follows abseils, coastal walks and the approaching Snowdonia Marathon – all embarked on and supported by staff at Grosvenor.

“The enthusiasm for this week’s sale was unbelievable with more than 30 members of staff kindly donating their time and home baked cakes and savouries towards the cause.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves both baking and eating and it is certainly an initiative that we will continue to adopt again in the future for charity,” said Jenny Carr, Customer Services Supervisor and organiser of Grosvenor’s ‘bake and share’ sale.

“Every year we choose a charity to adopt for a 12 month period and I have been delighted to see so many members of the team here at Grosvenor embrace the worthwhile cause of Claire House.  The ‘bake and share’ sale has been particularly well received in the staff room!” said Iain Wylie, Managing Director.

“What a great idea!  We are always extremely grateful for any donation to Claire House but we have been overwhelmed with the response from staff at Grosvenor by their generosity and ideas to raise funds.  The need for the service we provide will unfortunately never go away and it is with much appreciation that their support just keeps growing!” said Laura Irving, Area Fundraiser, Claire House. 

To coincide with the sixth annual National Conifer Week (2^nd – 10^th October) Grosvenor, located on Wrexham Road, Belgrave, has donated six Conifers to Claire House Children’s Hospice, the garden centre’s adopted charity for 2010 to provide added interest in the landscaped gardens at the Hospice in Bebington.

To acknowledge the resurgence in popularity of this versatile evergreen plant group, Grosvenor will feature Conifers as its Plant of the Month throughout October. By illustrating the versatility of these striking yet maintenance-free plants - perfect for creating a focal point in any garden - Grosvenor aims to raise awareness that Conifers are equally as elegant grown in pots or as a dramatic stand-alone feature. And, with the winter months fast approaching, many varieties of conifers change colour, providing year-round interest.

With inspirational displays at Grosvenor including their own specially designed Conifer Garden at the front of the Centre during October featuring distinctive varieties including Cryptomaria, perfect for creating a colourful backdrop to any garden and Juniper for flat growing ground cover to keep weeds down, there will also be special offers to encourage visitors to try Conifers in their gardens.

“Simple yet effective sums up Conifers perfectly and for any visitor looking for an easy to care for plant, we would definitely recommend a Conifer.  It is with no surprise then that it has been chosen as the National Plant of the Month,” said Iain Wylie, managing director.

“We were delighted to receive the Conifers from Grosvenor as part of their ongoing support of our work here at Claire House this year,” commented Laura Breen, Area Fundraiser, Claire House.

“They look very eye-catching in their chosen location and as they are also low maintenance, they provide the children with an improved outlook in the already delightful gardens and should continue to look amazing for years to come,” Laura concluded.

“Here at Grosvenor we are committed to helping visitors to the garden centre to make their gardens grow and have the confidence to plant more plants, shrubs and trees to improve the quality of the air we breathe and create more green space for everyone to enjoy. By donating Conifers to Claire House, we hope to continue to show our support of this worthwhile cause,” concluded Iain.

Daniel Griffiths, one of our Customer Service Assistants decided to follow the lead of his colleagues and abseil down the Mersey Tunnel Vents building last Sunday (15th August), raising nearly £300 for our nominated charity, Claire House Children’s Hospice. 

Dan had to climb a series of vertical ladders before he even reached the top of the building!  Definitely not a feat for the faint-hearted! 

Well done Dan!                         

“That was fantastic – a real once in a lifetime experience!” said Mark Jones and James Mabon of Grosvenor who took the plunge and abseiled from the iconic Liver Building on Saturday.

In aid of Grosvenor’s nominated charity, Claire House Children’s Hospice, James, Mark and Harrison Nolan took part in the abseil raising more than £1,000!

“The scariest part was climbing over the parapet and looking down!” said James, “But once we got going, it was exhilarating - although I did sustain a slight injury when I hit the wall!”

“I thought all three were amazing and they made it look very easy although the views from the top of the building showed just how far from the ground they really were!” said Tom Smith of Grosvenor.

Luckily, the weather held off until all three were back on terra firma before the heavens opened!

James Mabon

 “I can’t thank James, Mark and Harrison enough. We have raised more than £50,000 which is the biggest event and single fundraiser I think in our history so really pleased and proud. It will make a considerable difference to us here at Claire House.  Thank you to everybody who abseiled and their supporters for making it such a day to remember,” commented Laura Breen, Area Fundraiser, Claire House.

If this blog has inspired you to try an abseiling challenge, visit
www.clairehouse.org.uk for their forthcoming events.  As you will see, the next abseil is due to take place on 14th and 15th August at the Mersey Tunnel Vents building and we are sure they would appreciate your support!

Rhino Mania has come to Grosvenor with the arrival of two rhinos!  For the next 10 weeks, Grosvenor will be home to Empathy, designed by top artist, Mish Mash, and sponsored by His Grace, The Duke of Westminster KG CB OBE TD CD DL on behalf of the Samaritans in Chester.

Empathy at Grosvenor Garden Centre

There are 62 rhinos in total, each on display around Chester city centre and as far as Euston and Lime Street stations and John Lennon Airport.  You can follow the trail to see them all!   Visit www.rhinomania.co.uk to find out more. 

Devised as a huge public art event to encourage people to visit our great city, Rhino Mania has the additional aim of raising awareness of Chester Zoo’s input in the active conservation of the Black Rhino.

Many of the rhinos will be auctioned at the end of the 10 weeks to raise much needed funds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd who are celebrating their 21st anniversary and Chester Zoo’s Black Rhino Field Conservation Project in Kenya and Tanzania. 

And schools have got involved too with mini rhinos – and this is where our second rhino, Derek, comes in!  Designed by Brookside Primary School in Great Sutton, Derek is now in situ in our Café so don’t forget to give him a pat next time you enjoy a coffee and freshly baked cake!

Grosvenor has announced Claire House as its nominated charity for 2010. 

Based in Bebington, Claire House provides respite, palliative and end of life care for children with life limiting and life threatening illnesses from Wirral, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man. 

Together with a Hospice to Home service offering specialist care in the home environment, Claire House provides much needed emotional and practical support for families at a time when they need it most.

“Through our work with the community and aid of many charities and ventures throughout each year, we are pleased to add our support to Claire House and hope to raise a significant amount of funds,” commented Iain Wylie, Managing Director.
 
“We are delighted that Grosvenor has chosen Claire House as its charity for this year.  Their support could not have come at a better time!  With more than 250 families currently registered with Claire House and many more in need of such support, every penny is vital in making sure we offer every child in the area the opportunity to take advantage of Claire House and its assistance,” said Laura Breen, Area Fundraiser.

Grosvenor Garden Centre Supporting Claire House

Grosvenor has concluded more than 12 months of fundraising in aid of Christleton-based charity, Children Today, by raising a grand total of almost £3000.

As Grosvenor’s nominated charity last year, Children Today provides specialist, life-changing mobility equipment for children and young people with disabilities and sickness.  The charity works towards helping each child reach his or her maximum potential to lead a full and active childhood by supplying specially-adapted wheelchairs, tricycles and bespoke car seats.

The final sum raised was boosted by Horticulturalist, Charles Ashley, who completed his sixth gruelling Snowdonia Marathon.
 
Ruth Thompson, Head of Fundraising at Children Today said, “We are extremely grateful to Grosvenor and its customers for supporting us throughout the last 12 months.  With almost 400,000 disabled people under the age of 16 in the UK, the funds raised from Grosvenor’s support will really help to improve lives.  We receive applications from around 200 disabled people each year and any help is much appreciated.”

Forging links with the local community is an integral part of Grosvenor’s ongoing objectives and Iain Wylie, managing director, said: “Thank you to everyone who made a donation to Children Today here at Grosvenor and it is fantastic that we raised such a significant amount for such a worthwhile organisation.  The work they do to enhance the lives of young people is admirable and I am delighted that we were able to offer our support.”