Ashwood hands over £24,859.16 to charity

Nursery owner John Massey (third from the left) with the charity cheque

Ashwood Nurseries has presented Beacon Centre for the Blind, a local charity dedicated to supporting people living with sight loss, with a cheque for £24,859.16. The money will be used to help fund the care and support offered to blind and visually impaired people at the Beacon’s Independent Living Centre in Sedgley.

Partially sighted Bill Wiggins (right) with Tony Cartwright (nursery manager)

Beacon was chosen as Ashwood’s Charity of the Year 2017.  Most of Ashwood’s fund-raising came from John’s Garden Open Days and Hellebore Tours (the entire proceeds from entrance charges were donated) while The Gift Shop’s Taste of Christmas event also helped to raise money.

The cheque was handed over in John’s Garden by nursery owner John Massey and manager Tony Cartwright, along with Ashwood’s charity co-ordinator Barbara Cartwright. Beacon was represented by Vikki Millichamp (head of fund-raising at Beacon), Martin Rock (team leader of the Independent Living Centre), and Bill Wiggins, one of its partially sighted members.

How the money will help Beacon

Martin Rock said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone at Ashwood Nurseries, and all its customers, for raising this amazing amount of money for us. It will enable us to continue supporting local people who are living with sight loss.

Learning crafts at the Beacon Independent Living Centre

At our Independent Living Centre in Sedgley we help people with visual impairments to maintain their independence, by helping them to learn new skills, such as cookery and using IT equipment.

We also provide a wide range of social activities, such as arts & crafts, sporting events and exercise classes; activities that many of our members thought they could never take part in again after losing their sight.”

Supporting local charities

John Massey, Ashwood’s owner, said: “I feel strongly that we should support local charities especially in the light of so many funding cuts. I chose Beacon as Ashwood’s Charity of the Year 2017 because I really admire the work they do in helping local people with sight loss.

John’s Garden opens for charity throughout the year

Opening my garden is a wonderful way to raise money but we were also fortunate to receive a number of individual private donations from our wonderful customers and friends and we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported our charity in any way, no matter how small.”

Charity of the Year 2018

Ashwood Nurseries has announced that WINGS of Wombourne is its Charity of the Year for 2018. WINGS supports children and young people with special needs, providing an opportunity for them to socialise, make friends and have fun together in a safe and encouraging environment.

NB John’s Garden will be open for charity on Saturday, February 10th 10am-4pm read more