The team at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre at Monkton Heathfield recently presented a £1,458.65 cheque, which was collected during the garden centre’s Santa’s grotto events in December (2009), to Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).

Norma Moore, General Manager of the family-fun garden centre, which is located between Taunton and Bridgwater, said: “We are delighted to have raised this amount of money for CHSW. Proceeds from Santa’s grotto went towards the hospice and we had buckets in the garden centre to collect cash during our Christmas Party week in November.

“Children were invited to visit Santa in his grotto in the run up to Christmas. Hundreds of families turned out to see Santa in his grotto. It was a fantastic experience and everyone really enjoyed themselves. We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who visited Father Christmas and made contributions to the hospice.”

CHSW, which is one of the garden centre’s ‘charities of the year’, is currently the only provider of specialist hospice care for children in the region. It offers much needed support for youngsters with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and their families.

The organisation opened its first hospice, Little Bridge House in Barnstaple, in 1995. The demands on Little Bridge House increased to the extent that there became a vital need for a second children’s hospice and it opened Charlton Farm near Wraxall in April 2007.

The Chairwoman of the Bridgwater Friends of CHSW, Gill Brown said: “We are grateful for Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre’s continued support and look forward to working with them in 2010 to maximise fundraising for the hospice. We would like to thank everyone who visited the garden centre for their generous donations and for helping raise a fantastic amount of money for a very worthy cause.”

For more information, please drop in to Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, which is located just off the A38 at Monkton Heathfield between Bridgwater and Taunton, or call 01823 412381

Photograph caption: (From left to right) Vice Chairwoman of the Bridgwater Friends of CHSW, Carole Hill, Shop Manager at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, Steve Searle, General Manager of the garden centre, Norma Moore, owners of Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, Luella and David Bellman, and Chairwoman of the Bridgwater Friends of CHSW, Gill Brown at the charity cheque presentation.