Tag Archive for: charity

Green-tech names St Leonard’s Hospice as its chosen charity

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Green-tech names St Leonard’s Hospice as its chosen charity: Green-tech, the UK’s leading supplier of landscaping materials, has announced that St Leonard’s Hospice in York will be its charity of the year for 2025.

Green-tech is dedicated to supporting its local community and contributing to meaningful causes.

Green-tech names St Leonard’s Hospice as its chosen charity

Green-tech names St Leonard’s Hospice as its chosen charity

Each year, a member of the Green-tech team selects a charity for the company to support throughout the year. For 2025, Deputy Team Leader Chris Cross’ chosen charity is St Leonard’s Hospice, a much-loved and vital organisation that provides exceptional care and support for people with life-limiting illnesses in York and North Yorkshire.

St Leonard’s Hospice offers a range of services, including inpatient care, a Hospice@Home service, and bereavement support for families. Their compassionate approach ensures that patients and their loved ones receive the care and dignity they deserve during challenging times. As an independent charity, St Leonard’s relies heavily on donations to continue its critical work.

The Green-tech team aims to raise over £1000 during 2025 through various fundraising events and initiatives. In previous years, Green-tech has successfully raised substantial amounts for other charities, including Henshaws College, The Sick Children’s Trust, and Epilepsy Action. In 2024, they raised over £30,000 as part of their ‘£30k for 30 Years’ campaign.

Chris Cross commented, “St Leonard’s Hospice holds a special place in my family’s heart after caring for my father-in-law in his last few months. Their hard work is appreciated, offering comfort and care during life’s most difficult moments. I am proud to support them throughout 2025 and look forward to raising as much as possible to give a little back and help make a difference.”

St Leonard’s Hospice is excited about the partnership with Green-tech. Annie Keogh, Corporate Partnerships Development Fundraiser comments “We are incredibly grateful to Green-tech for choosing to support our hospice in 2025, which also marks St Leonard’s 40th Anniversary. Their efforts and commitment will help us to continue providing vital care to those living with life-limiting illnesses in North Yorkshire. Their generosity helps ensure we can keep supporting everyone who needs us.  I am looking forward to working together throughout 2025.”

To learn more about St Leonard’s Hospice or to make a donation, visit their website at https://stleonardshospice.org.uk/.

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Green-tech Exceeds £30,000 Charity Target

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Green-tech Exceeds £30,000 Charity Target: To celebrate three decades in business, Green-tech, a leading supplier in the landscaping industry, launched its ambitious ‘£30k for 30 Years’ charity campaign at the start of 2024.

The company has proudly exceeded its goal, raising a total of £31,000. The Green-tech team was delighted to present cheques for £6,200 each to five deserving charities at a ceremony on Friday, 8th November, at its North Yorkshire headquarters.

Green-tech Exceeds £30,000 Charity Target

Green-tech Exceeds £30,000 Charity Target

Green-tech’s milestone campaign supports five charities making a real difference in communities across the UK: the BALI Chalk Fund, Candlelighters Trust, Perennial Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Shelter. These charities address issues ranging from educational support and training to critical cancer care and housing assistance.

Over the course of 2024, the Green-tech team completed six major challenges to raise funds. The year of activities kicked off with a ‘Big Sleep Out’ at Green-tech’s site in March, despite the cold and rain, and concluded with a trek across the Yorkshire Three Peaks in August. Other events included the Roundhay Half Marathon, the physically demanding Total Warrior event, the Knaresborough Bed Race, and a virtual John O’Groats to Land’s End bike ride, where more than 60 team members cycled over 2,000 miles in just five days, far surpassing their initial goal of 874 miles.

Kris Nellist, Managing Director of Green-tech, expressed his pride and gratitude: “Our team’s dedication to supporting these charities has been incredible. This year, we wanted to mark our 30th anniversary not only by celebrating our achievements but also by giving back to the communities we care about. I couldn’t be prouder that we exceeded our target. The funds raised will go a long way in supporting these fantastic charities and their vital work.”

The charities have also voiced their appreciation for Green-tech’s donations:

  • Phil Swainston, Corporate Partnership Manager at Perennial, noted, “This donation from Green-tech will allow us to continue offering critical support to the horticultural community, from financial and wellbeing advice to career training. Their support means a lot to us.”
  • Iain Blackwood Hobbs, Partnerships Executive at Candlelighters, said, “We’ve enjoyed following Green-tech’s journey throughout this campaign. Their donation will make a big impact for families across Yorkshire dealing with childhood cancer, helping us provide the practical, emotional, and financial support they need.”
  • Richard Kay, Trustee of the BALI Chalk Fund, added, “Green-tech’s support helps us further our mission of providing training and certification for students entering the horticulture industry. On behalf of the trustees, a huge thanks to Green-tech for this generous contribution.”
  • Laura Holohan-Keith, Relationship Fundraising Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said, “Green-tech’s support will allow us to continue helping people affected by cancer in North Yorkshire. We’re so grateful for their efforts and commitment.”
  • Ellie Tomlin, Regional Community Fundraiser at Shelter, remarked, “We are delighted by the amazing fundraising efforts from Green-tech. There are currently 2,680 children in Yorkshire living in temporary accommodation who need our help. Thanks to this incredible donation, we can continue to support all those without a safe and stable home. Thank you so much to everyone that’s contributed!”

Supporting charitable initiatives and community projects is integral to Green-tech’s ethos. Their ‘£30k for 30 Years’ campaign represents this commitment, combining a major anniversary with meaningful contributions to organisations that touch lives across the UK.

As Green-tech prepares to enter its fourth decade of business, it remains focused on driving innovation and sustainability within the landscaping and environmental sectors. With a commitment to excellence and forward-thinking solutions, Green-tech aims to lead the industry in delivering high-quality products that meet the market’s evolving needs.

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STIHL announces charity partnership

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STIHL announces charity partnership: Leading premium garden tools brand, STIHL GB, is partnering with Perennial, the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping people in horticulture.

The STIHL team will volunteer in a wide range of fund-raising activities to provide financial support for Perennial with sponsored events including cycling, hikes, car washes and bake-offs.  Helping the charity provide free and confidential advice, information and support to people working in, or retired from, horticulture and their families.

STIHL announces charity partnership

STIHL announces charity partnership

As part of the new charity partnership Perennial will launch the STIHL equipment replacement fund, to help those in need with donations of tools and PPE.

STIHL GB’s Head of Marketing, Simon Hewitt, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Perennial, a charity whose purpose is so closely linked to our own values.  STIHL has been focused on making people’s lives easier when working in and with nature since our founder, Andreas Stihl, invented the first portable chainsaw in the 1920s.  In pledging our support to Perennial and combining our efforts we hope together we can help many more people in horticulture.”

Phil Swainston, Perennial’s Corporate Partnership Manager, said: “The financial and social pressures faced by individuals working in, and retired from, horticulture are acute, particularly in today’s challenging economic climate where horticulture professionals often contend with relatively low pay and the physical demands of their work. Perennial serves as a lifeline for many in our community, and thus, STIHL’s invaluable support plays a crucial role in our ability to assist those within the horticulture community. STIHL’s support holds immense value, especially as we’ve seen a notable 21% increase in individuals from our sector seeking personal support and a significant rise in those accessing our online tools.”

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Charity walk was something to SHOUT about

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Charity walk was something to SHOUT about: Ian Darler B.E.M completed his Walk to Qatar on the 19th November ahead of the clash with Accrington Stanley at the Abbey Stadium. The U’s Stadium Manager & Head Groundsman is raising money and awareness for Shout 85258 – the Club’s Mental Health partner – by walking the equivalent distance from London to Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup kick-off.

That’s an incredible 5,681,280 yards or 3228 miles!

Charity walk was something to SHOUT about

Charity walk was something to SHOUT about

 

Ian, tell us a bit about your background with mental health, and what motivated you to start your walk?

Having suffered and overcome mental health issues myself, I’ve got good knowledge of what it is when you’re at the lowest point in your life – however it was the tragic passing of a very close friend that made me start the walk for Shout 85285. Having spoken to him the day before he took his life – you would never had known there was anything wrong with him. It’s something I’ve since really beaten myself up about because I believe that anybody who hasn’t experienced mental health issues would probably think that when someone is suffering, they’re a misery and down in the dumps – but that’s not always the case. I managed to hide my depression and PTSD for over 18 months by laughing, joking and being over enthusiastic about everything but that in itself was exhausting.

When I spoke to my friend the day before he took his life, he was buzzing, he was really enthusiastic following Cambridge United’s results, and with him having been involved within the club for several decades all seemed normal, and he just seemed hyper due to all the success around the club.

What happened the following day will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I thought that if I could change this outcome for just one other person then I would do all I could to make it happen, so the walk was a simple way of getting the message out that if you are struggling with your mental health, don’t suffer in silence, you need to tell someone. Equally, if you think someone is struggling, you just need to ask them if everything’s okay, but don’t only ask once, ask them twice, are you sure you are okay. You may well be surprised by the reply?

What was the aim of the Walk to Qatar, Ian?

The walk was originally meant to be a million-step challenge, but following the success of that in getting people to talk about mental health, discussions between myself and the Club’s charity partner, Shout 85258 continued as we wanted to keep people talking about mental health and reduce the stigma that surrounds it and football is a great way of engaging people in discussion.

We then decided to extend the walk, with the World Cup looming, to 5.7 million yards, 3228 miles the distance between London and host nation Qatar.

The overall aim of both challenges was to raise awareness of mental health issues and make people aware of the help that is available. Shout 85258 offer an amazing service for anyone who is struggling with mental health and currently have on average 2,400 conversations a day.

What I didn’t expect was for people to reach out personally for my help. Over the past 12 months I’ve had dozens of people reach out to me acknowledging they have mental health issues and that they had never spoken to anyone about it before – several of which were people going through serious mental health challenges. I have also spoken twice at national conferences for the Football safety Officers Association which also had the dramatic effect of thirteen people coming forward to say they were suffering with mental health issues having never opened up about it before and they then assured me that they would seek professional help – Let me tell you this was more rewarding to me than winning Groundsman of the Year awards or getting a Queen’s honour, because that’s potentially saving somebody’s life.

I think people have either read the chapter Life Changing from my book Life’s A Pitch or from my walk diary entries on my charity website (cambridgecharityfundraisers.com/the-shout-journey) – to which they can relate to it. I’ve not had any professional training regarding mental health, only my personal experiences. I know how I cheated in terms of hiding my depression and PTSD, and I know how I recovered.

The last week of the walk I only had to walk 30 thousand yards to cover, in which the final steps of the walk were from Parkers Piece central Cambridge to the Abbey Stadium and took my step total to 6.2 million steps.

So far, how much money have you raised for Shout 85258 and how can people donate?

We’ve raised £16,000 and donations are still being pledged – which is absolutely incredible when you think of the state of the economy currently and how people are challenged financially. I think it’s just amazing how people are contributing, and they can rest assured that every penny they donate will help Shout and help others dealing with life’s challenges, these donations will potentially help save more lives.

People still wanting to donate can do so by visiting my charity page, which is

Cambridgecharityfundraisers.com There’s a whole section on there about the Walk to Qatar, which includes a button that takes you straight to the charity page you can donate to.

Every penny counts, and what I think people need to remember is that it could be someone in their family that it helps.

Following your incredible achievement, what’s next for Ian Darler?

The first thing is to give myself a break and have some good quality family time until Christmas, which I’m sure my family will appreciate! This walk which has lasted over 12 months has been really time consuming, but in the New Year I have  plans to hold a mental health lunch which will involve inviting companies and individuals in order to make them aware of some of the signs to look out for in their staff relating to mental health issues. We hope to have some top guest speakers from the football world in attendance.

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Trencher Hire praised by charity

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Trencher Hire praised by charity: A vital new conservation project called the Horstmann Trust has been launched in the unlikely location of South Wales to help preserve some of the world’s most endangered species of vultures, many of which are found in Europe, Africa and Asia.

The charity’s CEO Adam Bloch is a passionate conservationist, who is clearly concerned not just about the plight of vultures, but the ever-increasing number of animals joining the endangered species list across the globe, as their habitat is destroyed by man and the effects of climate change become ever more evident.

Trencher Hire praised by charity

Trencher Hire praised by charity

Trencher Hire UK has played a small but important role in the installation of welded steel fences within the site. Trencher Hire UK supplied a Vermeer RTX-250 on a week-long contract, but Adam said the machine was so efficient and easy to operate that the work was completed in just three days.

He commented: “We dug slots to a depth of 900mm to make sure that animals couldn’t dig under the welded steel fencing we were installing. The trencher made short work of this and backfilling was quick and easy. If we had tried to do the work with a digger, it would have created a whole lot of mess and incurred a lot of time making good afterwards.

“Trencher Hire were really helpful and I couldn’t fault the service. They turned-up at the allotted time, explained how to use the machine and the unit itself was excellent.”

The work of the Horstmann Trust is to develop an ongoing breeding programme with the primary focus on hooded, Egyptian and bearded vultures, as well as the Andean Condor. Adam commented: “There are 23 species of vultures around the world, with the majority facing rapidly falling populations and some facing extinction. We are creating a strong, genetically diverse captive population with some of our birds going on to be released back into the wild, whilst others will be given to other conservation organisations working together in these breeding programmes.

“We have to look to the future and our programme has to be a very long-term one. Many of the vulture species lay just a single egg each breeding season, so producing young can be slow. Condors can live up to 80 years in captivity and don’t reach sexual maturity until they are at least 6-8 years old but, in some cases, can be much longer!”

He is supported in his work by Holly Cale, who is Curator and Head of Research, along with a small number of staff and volunteers.

If you would like to make a donation to support the work of the Horstmann Trust you can contact Adam via email: adam@horstmanntrust.org.

To find out how Trencher Hire UK call help, contact us on: 0121 751 9319, or email: team@trencherhire.com or visit our website: www.trencherhire.com

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