Wirral Life July 2020 | Page 7

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