The hospice garden – help us win a £12,000 grant

Hi! Brother Francis, hospice gardener here. We need your help to give our big garden project a funding boost. The great news is that Tesco have awarded our new garden a grant for £8000. But… with a little help from our friends, we can see that grant increase in value to £10,000 or even £12,000.

The Tesco garden grant scheme – in a nutshell…

Tesco has teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative in hundreds of regions across England and Wales. The scheme sees three community groups and projects in each of these regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p carrier bag charge.

Skanda Vale Hospice is guaranteed a minimum of £8000 towards our garden. But between Saturday 27th February and Sunday 6th March, you can vote for our garden in a head-to-head competition with two other community garden projects. The project with the most votes wins £12,000. Second place will be awarded £10,000.

The garden design

• The garden has been designed to be a therapeutic space. It will be easily accessible to all our patients and their families, whether they are mobile, in wheelchairs or even in trolley beds.
• The £8000 basic level grant enables us to landscape the garden, do some planting, create paths and build a paved area in front of the terrace.
• Winning the £12,000 grant would enable us to create a stunning water feature, flowing from the sacred space, along the front of the terrace, to a shimmering pool that welcomes visitors as they arrive.

I would go loopy if I couldn’t get out in the garden! When I was laying in bed, I had to have all the windows open. I would be freezing, but I could hear the birds. At least I could see the trees and hear the birds. When you’re in bed, day and night, you need something. People are wonderful, of course… but nature… no, no, no… you get something else from nature.
Winnie, Skanda Vale Hospice patient

How to vote

Head down to Carmarthen or Llanelli Tesco Extra, or Ammanford superstore. With every purchase you will be given a token – simply place it in the correct box to cast your vote. Online customers can take their Customer Deliver Note into store and show this to a colleague in order to be given a voting token. Unfortunately you can’t vote online. Voting takes place in stores between Saturday 27th February and Sunday 6th March.

Competition update!

Thank you everyone who voted for us, with your help the Skanda Vale Hospice garden won the top grant of £12,000! Here’s Brother Francis with a few words…