Strawberry plants say thank you to charity's supporters

(Gardenzine news item:July 2010)

Grown for You supports St Mungos Action Week with a strawberry surprise.

Supporters of St Mungo’s, the charity which supports and campaigns on behalf of the homeless in London and the south, received a fruity gift courtesy of Grown For You at this year’s St Mungo’s garden party (22 June). Guests at the party, held during the charity’s Action Week (20-27 June), each received their very own strawberry plant.

St Mungo’s patron HRH The Duke of Kent attended the event and also received a strawberry gift. He met clients, including Jeff (pictured left) who told him more about the work of volunteers on St Mungo’s gardening programme Putting Down Roots.

Says Nick Coumbe, general manager, Grown For You: "One of the ways in which St Mungo’s supports the homeless is through gardening projects, in particular Putting Down Roots, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. We’ve visited the allotment project in Tottenham and have seen what fantastic work is being done in giving people a chance to develop new skills, as well as grow their own produce. The strawberry plant is our first gesture of support for the scheme, and we intend to go on supporting Putting Down Roots further still during its 10th anniversary year, and beyond."

Tanya English, executive director of fundraising and communications at St Mungo’s, said: "We’re very grateful to the Grown For You team, not only for the gesture during Action Week, but also for their long term interest in Putting Down Roots and how we support homeless people in their recovery journey. The strawberries were a perfect gift for our garden party guests."

Working in hostel grounds and on their very own allotment, Putting Down Roots provides gardening projects which can lead to accredited training or support towards further training and work opportunities. The scheme currently operates in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Haringey and Westminster. Gardeners from the scheme recently joined the Eden Project and worked with other homeless agencies to produce the Places of Change Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower show. Overall St Mungo’s supports over 100 projects, helping to change the lives of thousands of people every year.

For more on St Mungo’s and Action Week visit: www.mungos.org www.mungos.org