Haskins donates essential funding for The Fountain Centre to provide local bereavement support

Haskins Garden Centre has donated £7,500 to The Fountain Centre to fund a monthly bereavement group for families that are affected by cancer.

The Fountain Centre is a small independent cancer charity located within St Luke’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford. It provides support and information to individuals that have had their lives impacted by a cancer diagnosis.

The grant, made through the Haskins Charitable Fund, will allow the charity to run three bereavement groups simultaneously to support local families and individuals that have been overwhelmed by the effects of cancer in a calming, relaxed atmosphere. This grant will allow for two counsellors to be at each of the support groups, which will be held for adults, young children, and teenagers respectively.

The charity was nominated to receive the grant by Jess Bowman, Haskins’ Goods Inwards Senior Assistant at Forest Lodge Garden Centre. Jess chose The Fountain Centre as her selected charity to benefit from the charitable fund. She explained:

“As we are all aware, the pandemic has put a huge strain on the NHS and cancer services across the country, which is why small charities such as The Fountain Centre are critical in their support of patients, family, and friends during their worst times.

“I personally have not needed to use the service, but I have people very close to me who have, and I honestly cannot thank the charity enough for their help. Knowing that they had support and counselling services at a time when I felt like I didn’t know what to say, or do, meant that I could just be the friend that they needed. It feels great that my nomination has given the charity an opportunity to facilitate a support network for families who may not have been able to access the provision before.

“Cancer is a horrible ordeal to experience, but charities like The Fountain Centre offer a beacon of hope that people don’t have to navigate it on their own, no matter the circumstances.”

Susan Jordan, Fundraising and Events Lead for The Fountain Centre, said:

“We are very grateful to Haskins for funding this important project.  Being able to run counselling groups for whole families simultaneously will provide invaluable support to cancer patients and their families.”

The Haskins Charitable Fund was set up in 2017 to benefit charities and community projects local to its five garden centres across the south, through personal nominations from its staff. The Haskins team of over 650 employees can nominate their chosen charity or local community project, located within 15km radius to a Haskins centre.

The fund accepts nominations for charities which benefit vulnerable children and their families, for horticultural and environmental projects, or for hospices and respite care providers.