York Garden Centre raises its fundraising target for Wetherby children’s hospice

With two months of the charity year still to go, a Bradford-based garden centre group with a site in York has smashed its fundraising target and extended its commitment to a local children’s hospice.

In April 2025, the teams at Yorkshire Garden Centres’ sites in West and North Yorkshire pledged to raise £30,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice, the Wetherby-based independent charity that cares for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions from West, North and East Yorkshire.

Through a series of fundraising events, stock donations, collection boxes at the tills and the ‘Pennies’ initiative where customers donate when they pay, the teams at Dean’s York and colleagues and customers at Tong, Tingley, Otley, Bingley, Scarborough and Pennine Garden Centres have exceeded expectations and have raised over £75,000 for the charity in just 10 months.

Yorkshire Garden Centres’ group people and culture manager, Steph Harrison, said: “We’re delighted to announce that we are extending our fundraising for Martin House to June 2027, and have set a new target of £150,000. The partnership has been a huge success with our team and our customers, as they know the impact Martin House has on so many Yorkshire families and we’re very excited to see what a longer partnership can do.

“Every year Martin House cares for more than 500 children and their families, as well as supporting around 200 bereaved family members, at its hospice, in hospitals and in the community. It is open 24/7, 365 days a year, whenever families need help and support.

“It costs around £12 million a year to provide this level of care, the majority of which comes from voluntary donations and fundraising. Thanks to the support of our colleagues and our generous customers at all sites who have used our ‘Pennies’ initiative to donate over £60,000 at the checkout, we have smashed our initial fundraising target, and we are looking forward to raising even more money for this very deserving cause.”

Hannah Finan is the charity’s partnership manager: “We are so grateful to the team at Yorkshire Garden Centres and their wonderful customers for pledging to raise £150,000 for Martin House. This year, we will open the Martin House Education Centre, as we lead the way in providing expert training and education in children’s palliative care to healthcare professionals around our region and beyond.

“£150,000 will fund our education team for a year, helping us to increase understanding and knowledge of excellent palliative care for children and young people with life-shortening conditions. Thank you so much for your generosity.”

Mrs Harrison concluded: “Martin House was our first Charity of the Year when we acquired Tong Garden Centre in 2015. In the last decade, we have raised over £140,000 for local charities through our Charity of the Year initiative and have donated £12,500 to community groups through our Kindness Pot which supports projects suggested by our team. This level of giving puts us in the top 1% of Just Giving supporters, which is an amazing statistic to celebrate.”

The Yorkshire Garden Centres team has planned a series of events, including a Yorkshire Day Spinathon at all sites, a Dragon Boat race and a sponsored walk of the Yorkshire Three Peaks to raise the additional funds. To contribute to Yorkshire Garden Centres’ fundraising, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ygcgroup

Martin House has 15 beds, nine for babies and children, and six for teenagers and young people. Its support includes planned respite stays, symptom control, emergency care, end of life care and bereavement support.