Friends of hospital make final donation for spinal cord injury garden
Fundraising for a garden that will offer sanctuary for spinal cord injury patients has come to end with a final donation of almost £3,000 by the League of Friends to the RJAH.
Fundraising for a garden that will offer sanctuary for spinal cord injury patients has come to end with the League of Friends to The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital donating a final total of almost £3,000.
Horatio’s Garden is a national charity that creates and cares for gardens in NHS spinal injury centres and the garden – based on the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries at the Oswestry-based hospital - will be the fourth they have completed.
A capital appeal was launched back in June 2017 to raise £675,000 needed to complete this project.
Victoria Sugden, Charity Director for the League of Friends, said: “We are absolutely delighted to present Horatio’s Garden with the final sum of funds totalling £2,734.
“I’d also like to thank the community and a number of organisations who offered financial backing through grants for the garden. We wouldn’t have been able to raise the money without their support.
“Overall, we managed to raise £262,734 which is absolutely fantastic and more than double our initial commitment of £125,000.”
The donation comes as part of National Gardening Week – an event organised by the Royal Horticultural Society that aims to raise awareness of how gardens can improve the people’s lives.
Building work started on Horatio’s Garden back in November when the Trust held a ground-breaking ceremony. Work is expected to be completed in June.
The Lady Trevor, Vice Chairman of the League of Friends, said: “The garden, once finished, will make a remarkable difference to the experience patients have when on MCSI.
“The fact RJAH is the fourth hospital in the country to be selected for one of these beautiful gardens speaks volumes about the reputation of the hospital and their staff.”
Dr Olivia Chapple, Founder and Executive Trustee of Horatio’s Garden, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support from the League of Friends to help make the dream of the garden at RJAH a reality. “Work is now well underway and we’re extremely excited to reveal the garden when it’s all ready.
“We’re also now looking to welcome new volunteers and supporters as well as carrying out more fundraising to support the garden in its first year.”
