(Tuesday, 30 November 2023)
Thanks to 25 dedicated Hospice Marlborough Volunteers who are all avid gardeners themselves, Garden Marlborough 2023 once again provided a wonderful fundraising opportunity for Hospice, helping to raise crucial funds throughout the event.
After final event wrap-up, Hospice Marlborough was absolutely thrilled to learn fundraising efforts from supporting Garden Marlborough 2023, held from Wednesday, November 8th, to Saturday, November 11th has resulted in $8,283.00 being raised over the four days. This was all thanks to the support and generosity of those that attended the hospice catered garden tours and the garden homeowners.
One of New Zealand’s premier garden festivals, the long-standing partnership between Garden Marlborough and Hospice Marlborough, through the hospice volunteering programme, is a heartwarming collaboration where volunteers assist homeowners of several stunning half-day garden tours by supplying catering, welcoming guests, and serving morning and afternoon teas. In return, collection boxes are present for any donations and a small dollar value per tour guest ticket from these gardens goes directly to Hospice Marlborough. These funds enable the important continuation of providing high-quality palliative care services across all of Marlborough and go a long way to fulfilling the funding shortfall of just over $850,000 each year.
In 2023, the wonderful Hospice Marlborough volunteer team of 25, also called Hospice Marlborough Ambassadors, provided catering and hosted services across eight stunning gardens which included 10 morning teas and 8 afternoon teas for 921 garden enthusiasts. Hosting three lunches also took place and with close to 150 paid administration hours by the Hospice Events team supporting the lead-up to the event, a total of 140 volunteer hours were also recorded across the four days, which was a mammoth effort!
Hospice Marlborough thanks Garden Marlborough for the opportunity to be part of the festival in 2023 and to the wonderful garden owners for trusting us with your tour guests. Special thanks in particular goes out to garden homeowners Jill and Greg Tomlinson for the very generous donation at the conclusion of the event. It was a pleasure being part of Garden Marlborough 2023 and to host and be lucky enough to view some of the most gorgeous gardens Marlborough (and New Zealand) has to offer.
Hospice Marlborough also acknowledges the mighty support of our catering community without whose help and donation of catering, our participation may not have been possible. Your support was crucial to the success of hospice’s fundraising efforts.
Our heartfelt thanks to:
- Sander, Bianca & team at Karaka Catering
- Karen, Suzie & the incredible team at Ormond Nurseries
- Lynley & Maree at Chateau Marlborough
- Mike & Tania at CBD Eatery
- Shona & Tracy at Columbus Mitre 10 Mega
- Judith Bruce and the Marlborough Women’s Club
- Mel at Sweet Creations
- Lorri Taylor
- Jules Taylor and
- Pip Rose.
And, to all our wonderful volunteers, thank you for your continuing unwavering support through your volunteerism, you are truly appreciated.
For more photos from the event and to view some of our lovely volunteers and the stunning gardens, make sure you head over to the Hospice Marlborough Facebook page.