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Garden Centres Raises More Than £100K For Martin House Children’s Hospice



Yorkshire Garden Centres has reached a major fundraising milestone after raising more than £106,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice since the partnership began in April 2025.


Across its seven branches, colleagues and customers have thrown themselves behind the partnership, from bake sales and raffles to running, cycling and dragon boat racing. Each branch has its own charity champion and fundraising target, while the Pennies initiative gives customers the option to add 25p to their purchase at the checkout.


Staff have taken on individual challenges, including Dry January and the Great North Run, while CEO Mark Farnsworth has organised and joined cycling challenges. Colleagues also entered two sunflower-themed teams into Martin House’s Dragon Boat Race and took part in an in-store spinathon, cycling the equivalent distance from their stores to the hospice.


Last year, the company played a major part in Martin House’s 36-hour giving challenge for THE BUILD, raising more than £7,000.


Support has gone beyond fundraising too. Staff have donated items to Martin House’s retail team, contributed prizes to the Glitter Ball auction and donated Lego to the hospice. The company has also provided table centres for Martin House Ladies’ Lunches and welcomed children and families to Christmas events and the opening of its Otley Grass Hopper play centre. The partnership will run until June 2027.


Mark Farnsworth, CEO of Yorkshire Garden Centres, said:

“Reaching more than £100,000 is a fantastic milestone and is down to the enthusiasm of our colleagues, customers and charity champions across all seven of our centres.”

“Martin House does incredible work for children and families across Yorkshire, and our teams have really embraced the partnership. Whether it’s taking on a personal challenge, jumping into a dragon boat or simply asking customers to add 25p at the till, everyone has found their own way to get involved.”


“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together so far and look forward to continuing our support.”


Hannah Finan, Partnership Manager at Martin House, said:

“We’re hugely grateful to everyone at Yorkshire Garden Centres for reaching this incredible milestone. What makes the partnership so special is the sheer variety of ways their teams have chosen to support us. From major fundraising challenges to donations, events and welcoming the families we support, their commitment has reached right across Martin House."

“More than £106,000 is an amazing achievement and will make a real difference to the children, young people and families who rely on our care.”


Each year, Martin House supports more than 550 children and young people with life-shortening conditions, and their families, across West, North and East Yorkshire.


Its specialist teams provide care at the hospice in Boston Spa, in hospitals and in families’ own homes, including planned short breaks, symptom management, emergency care and end-of-life care.


Providing this specialist care costs Martin House around £13 million every year, with the majority coming from voluntary donations and fundraising.


For further information about Martin House Children's Hospice and how to support it, visit here.

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Celebration Packaging’s EnviroWare® bamboo fibre double wall hot drink cups and double wall Leaf 2 hot drink cups are now also certified as 100% recyclable in normal paper mills.


Celebration Packaging Managing Director Nick Burton said:

“When we created the EnviroWare® brand, over 17 years ago, our declared mission was to seek out more sustainable packaging solutions. We have always believed that when sourcing sustainable packaging, the provenance of the raw materials is paramount – but ensuring that it can be properly disposed of at its end-of-life is equally important. Obtaining certification to prove that our products are 100% recyclable is therefore crucial.”

Using the recyclability assessment method of EN13430 with testing based on the Confederation of European Paper Industries Recyclability Test Method Version 2 (2022) for fibre-based packaging products and materials, the cups have been confirmed as 100% recyclable in standard paper mills, so they don’t have to be sent to specialist facilities.


Family run Celebration Packaging’s EnviroWare® bamboo fibre double-wall hot drink cups are made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified bamboo fibre – with an aqueous-based lining, while the EnviroWare® Leaf 2 paper hot drink cups are made from FSC® certified material with a plant-based lining.


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The importance of certification


“Earlier this year, we commissioned Sapio Research to conduct a survey looking at consumer understanding of logos and terminology used for disposable foodservice packaging,” says Nick Burton.


“The survey showed that 68% of consumers think that it is very or extremely important that food and drink packaging is certified recyclable, and over three fifths (61%) said that information on packaging is what they rely on the most to keep them informed about its correct disposal, underwriting the importance of it being properly certified."


“Celebration Packaging has always invested in accreditations and certifications which we take very seriously, so that when we make environmental and sustainably claims, we can always back them up. This sets us apart from many of our competitors, while also giving our customers confidence to help them on their sustainability journey."


“If foodservice operators are looking to improve their sustainability credentials, they need to work with a consultative supplier to ensure that they're choosing the right packaging – that is functional, fit for purpose, popular with consumers and above all, sustainable,” concludes Nick Burton.

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