By Harborough mail | Posted 18 July, 2014
Ian Colledge, who runs The Plant Man plant nursery, at The Hawthorns in Park Hill, Braybrooke, managed to raise the most money for the LOROS Accumulator Challenge.
He invested his £50 to buy a number of baby plants which his firm grew and sold for 50p each. Once sold, they used the proceeds to buy young perennials, potted into bigger pots, and sold each one for £2.50.
Mr Colledge, owner of The Plant Man, said: “My partner, Anna, passed away two years ago and she was looked after by LOROS.
“The help she received was absolutely fantastic. She fought cancer for 15 years and we raised money for LOROS when she was alive, but it was done on a very informal basis.
“The Accumulator Challenge gave us the opportunity to organise our fundraising a little better.
“We hope to raise more next year.”
Mr Colledge, who launched his firm with his wife in 2005, built the nursery almost from scratch, and it now has polytunnels, display beds, standing down areas, and large raised growing beds.
LOROS has presented Mr Colledge’s team with the Most Innovative Idea award.
The plant centre also surprised LOROS during a recent meeting by providing them with an extra cheque for £600, with Ian also giving talks that have raised £145 to date.
LOROS partnership development assistant Magdalena Korytkowska said: “We would like to congratulate and say a big thank you to The Plant Man team who were incredible.
“The Accumulator Challenge slogan ‘grow the money’ was taken by them very literally, which we loved.”
LOROS aims to enhance the quality of life for the terminally ill, with more than 2,500 patients helped each year.
She added: “Their dedication to support LOROS on a daily basis is touching and very appreciated, and we feel very honoured to work alongside The Plant Man and we look forward to seeing their new innovative ideas to raise money for the hospice.”
The Plant Man team have already signed up for next year’s challenge.
The contest was successfully finished by 20 teams, together raising £6,663.
For more details about LOROS, call its fundraising team on 0116 2318431 or email fundraising@loros.co.uk
