A GREEN-fingered Cradley couple who set themselves the challenge of raising £10,000 in ten years for a children’s hospice are blooming with pride after reaching their target.
Kath, 69, and Robert Cross, 74, generated the funds for Acorns Children’s Hospice after selling freshly cut chrysanthemums on the village roadside and through donations at birthdays and anniversaries.
Kath said she could not contain her emotions when she found out they had hit their milestone as they wanted to help make a difference to the children who use Acorns Children’s Hospice.
“I was so determined when I started and cried when I was told we’d reached our target,” she said.
“We grow the chrysanthemums in a large polytunnel that houses around 1,000 plants.
“People pick them up as they pass by but we also have people asking us for bunches for weddings and funerals.”
Mandie Fitzgerald, community fund-raising manger at Acorns, said she was delighted for the couple while the funding boost comes in the same year the charity celebrates ten years of providing care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children across the three counties.
“This is such a fantastic achievement and to raise such an incredible amount for Acorns is an inspiration to us all,” she said.
“We need public support more than ever to meet the majority of what it costs us to operate. It’s thanks to the support of people like Kath and Robert that we are able to continue providing the vital care our children need.”
