Image from left to right; Helen Rose, Barbara Russell, Roy Kellett, Viva O'Flynn, and Joe Kilker.
Let’s Get Dirty… with Fundraising!
Following on from my last blog I thought it prudent to mention how we raise funds to improve the Rose Garden and the work required to achieve our aims and objectives. As with most voluntary groups it is important to recognise that all volunteers give their time, experience and energy to their chosen group and, or activity and apart from helping the local community to improve a local service, resident scheme, property or in our case the Rose Garden and the Phoenix Centre Garden, most improvements cannot be made without a great deal of funding.
When we first formed the Phoenix Gardening Group, we were fortunate to have a lot of initial support from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) and in particular a wonderful lady called Frances Halstead (Nature Project Officer) who regularly attended our early planning meetings and gave us a lot of advice and support to help us through the admin side of setting up our gardening group.
Additionally, she was able to seek financial support from GWT for our project and donated a shed for our gardening tools and provided some much-needed gardening gloves for the team as we expanded our gardening group.
On to new pastures!
Unfortunately, Frances retired in 2024 and moved away from the area, but we will always have fond memories of her kindness, generosity and the wealth of knowledge that she shared with us. As a parting gesture, we presented Frances with a good luck card for her well-earned retirement and a potted Bonsai as a thank-you gift. She will be sadly missed by our gardening group, the GWT and many more voluntary groups she helped along the way.
As I mentioned in my last blog, we were also fortunate to have another wonderful lady called Viva O’Flynn who also supported us throughout our first year and presented members of our group with certificates of recognition for the work we have done in the Matson Rose Garden. These were presented at the ‘Summer Social and Outdoor Cinema’ event that was held on Friday 23rd August 2024 in the Matson Rose Garden. In addition, she also donated £100 from LOOP (Looking Out for Others Potential) to fund additional equipment for our gardening group.
For those who know, Viva O’Flynn has worked tirelessly to promote numerous events in the local community and beyond. In doing so she has provided so much joy and happiness for all those people and charitable organisations she has supported. On a personal note, Viva kindly shared her knowledge and local information with regard to funding opportunities in Gloucestershire for our gardening group and this information has proved invaluable.
Viva now works for Gloucester City Council and works in the city centre to support a range of businesses and cultural events. That said, she still finds time to visit GL Communities and the gardening group; often with a few sweet treats for us to share over lunch.
However, before Viva left her role with LOOP, we all wished her well in her new job at Gloucester City Council and presented her with a good luck card and a potted plant.
Barbara Russell presenting the retirement card and Bonsai (Frances) at GWT last year during our last ‘Green-Space’ meeting with her.
Dirt, Dreams & Donations
Before the end of 2024, it was decided that we should install some noticeboards in the Rose Garden; a suggestion that was put forward by our own team member Joe Kilker. So, I started by applying for grants and other fund-raising opportunities. In particular, I applied to the Resident Led Action Fund (RLAF) and we were awarded £1000 towards the cost. We also organised a charity table top sale which was held at the Matson Baptist Church on the 8th February earlier this year and raised over £600 for the gardening group to purchase work wear, tools and equipment.
I am pleased to announce that our efforts paid off and we managed to install two noticeboards in the Rose Garden before the charity table top sale and even advertised the event in them. David Brooks and Joe Kilker helped me install these noticeboards.
In my next installment, I will report back on our path improvement work and the funding received to start the ball rolling.
Again, we would like to thank: The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, GL Communities, Loop, Gloucester City Council and many more who have provided advice, support and donations to make our Gardening Group successful.
Please note: We are currently looking for some more volunteers to join us, so If you are interested in joining our happy group of gardeners, please drop into the Phoenix Centre on a Wednesday between 10am – 2.30pm or call Roy Kellett on 07966 523257.
