Perennial is often described as a ‘lifeline’ by the people we help. Your fundraising will make a real and lasting difference to lives. You can read about some of our client’s stories here or watch our short film below. 

What your fundraising will do

£25 pays for a new school uniform for the child of someone struggling to make ends meet

£50 will pay for a care alarm to be installed for an elderly or disabled client

£150 will pay for a TV licence for a client whose only companion is the TV

£200 pays for 10 sessions at a nursery for a baby whose parent is critically ill

£500 will help furnish a flat for someone who was previously homeless

£750 pays the removal fees for a client fleeing domestic violence

£1,000 will buy a new boiler for a family living without hot water or heating

How to get your money to us

Online – The easiest way to get your sponsorship money is by setting up a page via JustGiving

Text Message – The fastest way of sending us a donation is via your mobile phone:

Text one of the following messages to 70070:

HORT18 £1
HORT18 £2
HORT18 £3
HORT18 £4
HORT18 £5
HORT18 £10

Let us know what you’re up to

Don’t forget to tell us what you’re doing to raise money and send us photos and video of your event. You can share your story on our Facebook page, tweet about it on Twitter, or email hortaid@perennial.org.uk

You can read about some of the people Perennial has helped here →

Need some inspiration in your fundraising for HortAid?
Try one of our ideas below…

• Take part in one of our challenge events in 2018
  • Virgin British 10K (Sun 15th July – #GetRunning)
  • Great Wall of China Discovery (13th-21st September – #WalktheWall)
  • Nuts Challenge (Sun 30th September – #GoNuts)
  • Royal Parks Half Marathon (7th October – #GetRunning)
  • Skydiving (year-round availability – #GetJumping)

• Become a Perennial Partner in 2018:
  • Find out more about our unique Partnership scheme for companies working in and with the UK horticulture industry

• #GetSporty; organise a football or cricket match, or have a golf day to raise money
  

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• #GetGiving – nominate Perennial as the Charity of the Year for your workplace or company
  

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• #GetFit – Walk, run or cycle to work for a week – you can donate the money you save in transport costs to Perennial AND get sponsored by colleagues to boot!
• There’s a gym outside your window – get out in the garden and get fit in the process – why not ask friends and neighbours if they need a hand in their garden in exchange for a donation to Perennial?
  

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• #GetBaking – hold a cake sale or a tea party in the office, or with your friends
  

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• #GetDressed – dress to impress in your workplace – get going in a superhero costume or morphsuit
  

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• #GetMoving – hold a Zumba session in your office, or dance the night away to raise money for HortAid
  

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• #GetGreen – Recycle your old mobile phones, inkjet cartridges and any unwanted jewellery to Perennial via Recycle 4 Charity and Recyling for Good Causes
• Save on fuel and carbon emissions for the day – use manual equipment instead of petrol power for the day and get sponsored for your efforts
  

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• #GetRid – reuse your unwanted items and hold a bring and buy sale at work to raise money
  

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• #GetOpen – host an impromptu ‘Garden Open’ event with voluntary donations and tea and biscuits!
  

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• #GetGrowing – Put your extra plants, fruit and veg to good use by holding a plant sale outside your house – set up an honesty box with a sign about Perennial asking for donations
  

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• #GetWet – Take part in a sponsored swim, or relive the summer of 2014 and do an Ice Bucket Challenge
• Hand car wash – charge for your efforts, or ask for a voluntary donation
  

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• #GetGlam – wear makeup – nail polish, lipstick, complete with a green wig (or hair dye) – for the day
  

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• #GetGunged – create a gunge tank at work – everyone pays for a vote and the one with the most gets the gunge! Will the boss be gunged?
  

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• #GetDaring – skydive, bungee jump or zipwire for HortAid
• Dare to get going in as funny a way as possible and nominate a friend to join you (use #GetGoingforHortAid on Twitter) –how many people can you join together…

Whatever you do, don’t forget to tell us about it!

Perennial fundraising events in 2018

Thurs 18 January 2018 – Party for Perennial

The Party for Perennial, which took place on Thursday 18 January at O’Neills in Central London, raised £10,000 on the night. Over 150 people from across the horticulture industry enjoyed a lively evening of networking and celebration with a fantastic selection of raffle prizes and the announcement of Perennial’s fundraising Champions 2017.

Money raised on the night will keep one of Perennial’s 13 caseworkers on the road for just over 10 weeks, safeguarding the tailored one-to-one support the charity gives people in need year-round.

Among the pledges received on the night is a commitment from Richard Curle and his team at Landscape Associates to take part in the Perennial Nuts Challenge in September. Richard is an established Perennial supporter, having previously taken part in the epic Three Peakers Ride Again Challenge in 2016, which raised over £40,000 for Perennial.

For the first time, Perennial’s fundraising programme includes an overseas challenge event in 2018. Perennial’s Director of Marketing & Fundraising, Anita Bates, and Senior Development Manager, Laura Garnett, are walking the Great Wall in China in September and aim to raise £6,000. (You can sponsor them here.) The event has room for further participants so please get in touch if you’d like to take part.

Sun 15th July – The Virgin British 10K

The British 10K London Run is a perfect option for those wanting to enjoy the London Marathon route without having to run 26 miles!

Starting on Piccadilly outside The Cavalry & Guards Club on Hyde Park corner, runners will make their way past huge crowds and London landmarks including the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

More details on our Event page

13th – 21st September – Great Wall of China Discovery

To trek along one of the Seven Wonders of the World is an incredible experience and one that will stay with you for a lifetime. The ideal challenge for those with a passion for history and a sense of adventure, this trek will give you the opportunity to discover China’s hidden charms, astounding cultural past, traditions and mythology.

Day 1 | Depart the UK London to Beijing

Day 2 | Arrive in Beijing Full trip briefing before the challenge

Days 3-7 | Huangyauan – Mutianyu Follow the winding wall with striking views of watch towers, picturesque farmer’s tracks, tackling the 300 steps of Heavens Ladder and walking along remnants dating back to the Qing Dynasty

Day 8 | Mutianyu – Beijing Our final trek along beautiful parts of the Great Wall followed by our celebration meal

Day 9 | Beijing Time to explore the city!

Day 10 | Beijing to London Flights home

Full Itinerary and further information 

Sun 30th September – Go Nuts for HortAid

Tackle the UK’s most iconic muddy course for HortAid

• Bespoke event purely for Perennial supporters from the horticultural industry
• Course includes 60+ man-made obstacles plus many natural ones
• Contestants will be trekking, running, crawling through tunnels, tyre walls, rope swings, cargo nets and water obstacles

See more on our Event page

Sun 14th October 2018 – Royal Parks Half Marathon

Come and join the Perennial team and take part with over 16,000 runners through Central London, taking in the spectacular sights and the beautiful Royal Parks.

The stunning 13.1 half marathon route takes in the capital’s world-famous landmarks on closed roads, and four of London’s eight Royal Parks – Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James’ Park, and Kensington Gardens.

More details on our Event page

Weekends throughout the year – Skydiving

Imagine standing at the edge of an open doorway in an aircraft flying at 10,000 feet – the noise of the engines and the wind ringing in your ears with only the outline of distant fields below.

Now imagine leaning forward out of that doorway and letting go – falling forward into the clouds, diving down through the air as you start free-falling at over 120mph!

Imagine no more… come and join us! Great to do if you’re celebrating a big birthday, needing an adrenaline fix or need to tick it off your bucket list. A number of airfields to choose from around the UK.

More details on our Event page

Highlights from HortAid 2017

2 September 2017 – The Urban Hortic takes to the skies

It was third time lucky for Kenny Raybould who, thanks to the weather finally being kind to him, skydived for Perennial on 2nd September, raising an incredible £722.50! You can still sponsor him here.

30 July 2017 – High flying fundraisers raise money for HortAid

Three fundraisers have raised almost £3,000 for HortAid, Perennial’s annual fundraising campaign. Two brave thrill-seekers, Manoj Malde and Gillian Goodson, took to the skies to skydive over Wiltshire, while Brian Hawtin walked an epic 100km in under 24 hours.

Manoj and Gillian, both garden designers, leapt out of a plane at 15,000ft from Netheravon Airfield near Salisbury, both smashing their fundraising targets. On the same weekend Brian Hawtin of Brian Hawtin Landscape Design set out to walk 100km from Canterbury to Crawley in under 24 hours. In fact he finished the gruelling walk in less than 23 hours, which was an amazing achievement.

You can still donate to their fundraising pages here:

• https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manoj-malde
• https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gilliangoodson
• https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/brian-hawtin

Read full report here

23 May 2017 – Play the Pitch for Perennial

Gavin Jones were crowned #PlaythePitch Cup winners and Super Cup champions at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium on Tuesday 23 May in a nail biting penalty shoot-out.

Sixteen teams from across the horticulture industry arrived at the home of the 2015-2016 Premier League champions bright and early for the Group Stages draw. The top two teams from each group progressed to the Cup quarter finals, whilst the bottom two went through to the Plate competition. The winners of the Cup and Plate finals then faced each other in a Super Cup final.

The on the pitch action finished with a Beat the Goalie competition, which saw Perennial’s new Chief Executive Peter Newman amongst those who stepped up to take a shot, before heading up to the Walkers Lounge to lead the speeches and trophy presentations.

Many thanks to all who made the day possible: Leicester City Grounds Manager John Ledwidge and team; sponsors ICL, media partner LAPU; Ady Dayman and the tournament officials who volunteered their time. Most of all thank you to the #PlaythePitch teams who played in a such fantastic spirit and helped raised vital funds to support their colleagues.

Read the full report here.

Our official matchday photographer Carl Harrison has a gallery of images available to purchase here.

19 JANUARY 2017 – PARTY FOR PERENNIAL

We hope everyone who came to the Party for Perennial 2017 had an amazing time! We are thrilled that so many were able to attend to help kick start our HortAid 2017 fundraising campaign! We revealed our HortAid 2016 total which was an incredible £162,975 and we’re hoping that this year will be even better!

It was brilliant to see so many of people dancing and enjoying the silent disco! You can view a gallery of images from the event here. We can send you copies of the original files in return for a small donation to Perennial. Email us for details.

The auction and raffle were a great success raising almost £14,000 alone, and our thanks go to all those who donated some wonderful prizes including Birtsmorton Court, Carol Lammas, Square Root Planters, Martha Krempel and River Cottage, London Stone, John Moseley and Nandos! We are still counting the amount raised on the night but initial indications show it is close to £30,000, an amazing amount!

Thanks go to Party for Perennial 2017 sponsors for their generous support: CED Stone Group, Bulldog Tools, the HTA, Bulrush, The Landscape Show and Sodexo Horticultural Services and our media partner Horticulture Week.

Highlights from HortAid 2016

23 July – 9 October 2016 – Broomfield Landscaper Challenge

A group of colleagues and friends from Greenspace Solutions in Leeds (now owned by GRITIT UK) joined forces to raise money for HortAid last year in memory of Alan Broomfield.

Alan, who worked for Greenspace Solutions, died from cancer in 2015 leaving a wife and young son.

The team participated in three events:

• Yorkshire Three Peaks (23 July)
• Yorkshire Tough Mudder (August)
• Yorkshire Marathon (9 October)

Find out more on their JustGiving team page, or sponsor them individually via the links below:

• Adam Ralph
• Nikki Singh-Barmi
• Michaela Walker
• Liam Stead
• Jim Nuttall

18 – 26 September 2016 – Three Peakers Ride Again: Snowdon 2 Lands End

A team of landscapers and nurserymen and women from across the UK cycled from Snowdon to Lands End in just 6 days in September 2016. So far the team has raised over £40,000 for Perennial, a life-changing amount of money that will help us support many more horticulturists struggling to cope with life’s many challenges.

• You can still sponsor the team here

The event was fully supported by top professional guides from Passion In Events (PIE).

The event was sponsored by Bowles & Wyer, Silverland Stone, London Stone and Garden Link. In addition, the challenge vehicles were sponsored by Skidmores, Oakview Landscapes and Thurlow Nunn Vauxhall.

10 July 2016 – British 10K London

James Robbins, Fullers Mill Head Gardener Annie Dellbridge and her son Sam completed the British 10K London on 10 July.

24 June 2016 – Slieve Donard Challenge

A group of Irish horticulturists, led by Doug Thomson, tackled the trek from the coast up to the top of Slieve Donard, the tallest mountain in Northern Ireland.

Along the way, they raised well over £1,000!

11 June 2016 – Tandem Skydiving

A group of intrepid fundraisers – including Gold Medal-winning garden designer Ann-Marie Powell – raised over £4,000 on 11 June!

However, you can skydive for Perennial at any time of year. Watch this video to get some inspiration.

24 April 2016 – Virgin Money London Marathon

The amazing Paresh Raithatha and Andrew O’Brien ran the London Marathon for HortAid in 2016, and between them raised nearly £5,000!

• Marathon heroes raise nearly £5,000 for HortAid
• Running the London Marathon next year? Email our HortAid team

15 January 2016 – Party for Perennial

Our 2016 HortAid campaign got off to a flying start at the Party for Perennial at Skyloft, Altitude London.

The event raised a total of nearly £35,000, with over £26,000 of that for HortAid!

• Record fundraising at Party for Perennial
• Charity Champions announced at Party for Perennial
• Plans unveiled for ambitious cycle challenge
• View our photo gallery (Flickr)

Highlights from HortAid 2015

6 September 2015 – London to Brighton bike ride

Claire and Jamie completed an extraordinary weekend by forming part of a team that cycled a 7-seater bicycle all the way from Clapham Common to the seafront in Brighton! They were joined by our Extreme 3 Peaks team. Between them, they raised more than £3,000.

• Grubby Gardeners complete epic 10-hour, 7-seater cycle
• View our London-Brighton photo gallery

5 September 2015 – Nuts Challenge

Claire Vokins and Jamie Butterworth braved the daunting 7km Nuts Challenge course, near Dorking, Surrey. With over 100 obstacles and lashings of deep Surrey mud, they had a fantastic time!

• View our Nuts Challenge photo gallery

1-14 September 2015 – Go Green for HortAid

Fire engines were pulled, raffles were held, jam was sold, and green custard pies were thrown. Our fool-hardy fundraisers raised almost £10,000 during our Go Green fortnight!

• Orpington school children and Coolings Garden Centre raise £500

12 July 2015 – British 10K London

Our amazing team of runners raised more than £2,270 racing through the streets of London in one of the country’s most popular running events!

2 May 2015 – Skydive for Perennial

Intrepid Perennial thrill-seekers leapt out of an aeroplane to raise over £4,200 for Perennial! While two of our “Grubby Gardeners”, Michael Perry and David Lewis, marked World Naked Gardening Day at the same time…

• Skydiving fundraisers took the plunge

18 April 2015 – Dirty Dozen Races

The Grubby Gardeners got down and dirty for another fantastic mud run in Kent, and raised over £2,500 in the process!

12 and 26 April 2015 – OTT (One man, Two marathons, Two weeks)

Nigel Bowcock, owner of Acre Landscapes Ltd and BALI board member raised over £2,500 running two marathons in a fortnight!

• Brighton Marathon (12 April)
• London Marathon (26 April)
• Nigel Bowcock completes HortAid marathon challenge

15 January 2015 – Party for Perennial

We started the year in fantastic style with more than 300 people attending the Party for Perennial, raising more than £20,000!

• Inaugural Party for Perennial kicks off new year of fundraising
• View our Party for Perennial photo gallery (Flickr, or Google+)

We want to know how you’re planning to raise money for HortAid!

We can support you with publicity, marketing collateral, and help you make sure your fundraising event is as successful as possible.

Fill out the form below to let us know.