IN BRIEF
'LET US BLOOM'
COMPETITION FROM
STICK ‘N’ STEP
TRAVEL AGENT WINS
NATIONWIDE COMMUNITY
SERVICE AWARD
Cerebral palsy charity Stick ‘n’ Step is promoting the
joy and therapeutic effects of gardening by encouraging
people to take part in its very own virtual gardening
competition.
The ‘Let us Bloom’ campaign has been sponsored by B&M Waste,
which has donated £400 in National Garden Centre vouchers for the
winners.
To enter the competition, entrants need to submit a photo of their
gardening project. There are four categories to choose from. Entries
cost £5 and all money raised will go to supporting the work of Stick
‘n’ Step. Entrants simply need to text BLOOMING to 70085 to make
their donation, then take a screen shot of the ‘thank you for your
donation’ message and send it, along with a photo of their entry, to
[email protected]. All entries will be assigned a raffle number and
one winner will be drawn per category.
There are four categories. The winner of each one will receive a £100
voucher.
• Children’s category 14 and under: children will be encouraged to
send us a photo of a garden project that they have worked on and
are proud of. This could be a pot, a window box, bedding area or
other imaginative creation.
• Most unique planting container: judges are looking for the most
imaginative and creative upcycled container to display your
gardening creation.
• Pot or hanging basket: judges would like to see your beautiful pot
or hanging basket creations.
• Alternative Garden: This category is for people who do not have
a garden and are making their balcony, yard, outside area or
alternative space beautiful.
Head of fundraising at Stick ‘n’ Step, Jenny Snell, says, “Despite
lockdown, Britain is blooming as people of all ages discover the joy
of gardening - with or without an actual garden! It passes the time,
reduces stress and anxiety, boosts self-confidence and provides a sense
of achievement. We hope people will have fun putting their entries
together. No one should worry about whether they have green fingers
or not as winners are being decided on a random draw, rather than
gardening talent!”
Starting and running your own business is never easy but
Perfect Getaways Managing Director, Nicola Palmer, has
managed to do it whilst adding in a host of charity work
and giving back to the community into the pot.
This was recognised by the respected travel trade publication, TTG
Media, this month as Nicola beat off all other travel agents from across
the country to be awarded the Community Hero for 2020.
Perfect Getaways was only 1.5 years old at the start of 2019 yet Nicola
and her team helped raise more than £12,500 for local causes as well as
sponsoring many local events and junior clubs and giving away more
than £3,000 worth of holidays and vouchers in the year. In addition,
Nicola attended schools and clubs and was prominent in teaching
about reducing the effects of travel on the environment and animals
in captivity.
The highlight of the year was a sponsored skydive which was no mean
feat for Nicola who has a fear of flying. Nicola and her team also
arranged seven charity coach trips to York Christmas Markets at the
end of the year with all the profits going to local charities chosen by the
managers of each of her shops. All the staff gave their time for free on
the days and spent weeks arranging prizes to raffle off.
Nicola has then carried on the good work into 2020. In February of this
year Nicola donated two holidays to the Elliot Wild Big 18 Party which
raised £8,500 at auction at Thornton Hall Hotel.
Organisations to benefit from Perfect Getaways include Wirral Society
for the Blind, Claire House, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Meadowside
School for Autism, No More Knives and Trinity Hospice.
Nicola said ‘Since opening our first shop in 2017, the local community
has been amazing to us. We have received support from so many
people and small businesses. We just want to give back. We are a local
business, we love our community and are proud of it. If you give, it
comes back to you in other ways.’
Perfect Getaways currently has five travel agents in Neston, Little
Sutton, Birkenhead, Liverpool and St Helens. It plans to grow to 10
travel agents over the next two years in Merseyside and Cheshire. Each
of the stores are tasked with helping their own local community. I think
we can safely say that, wherever they open next, the local community
will benefit from it.
wirrallife.com 7