News / media
Enham celebrates six year relationship with Hillier Nurseries
20 January 2008
Disability charity Enham is celebrating its six year relationship with Hillier Nurseries which has seen Hillier Nurseries donating 50p to Enham for every Enham Star sold.
Over the years of this “cause related marketing” relationship Hillier’s have helped Enham by raising in excess of £12,000 through sales of the Enham Star (Clematis Armandii), an evergreen Clematis cultivated in the nurseries at Enham. Each Enham Star now has a fresh and stylish new label which has been redesigned in corporate colours with Enham’s current logo to ensure that the marketing relationship is highlighted to each purchaser, so that they know that their purchase is also helping disabled people to achieve their full potential.
This tremendous fundraising effort has meant that Enham has been able to upgrade the facilities in its nursery, which directly benefits the many disabled clients who study horticulture there, enabling them to work towards achieving NVQ levels 1 and 2 in Commercial Horticulture. “The Enham Nursery is a very busy but also peaceful environment to work in and our clients gain valuable experience and qualifications to help them to fulfil their own personal goals” said Derek Simm of Enham.
Some of the money has also partly funded an extension to the nursery so that even more plants can be grown to meet demand. 40-50% of the turnover of Enham’s horticulture department is derived from sales to Hilliers, which includes the Enham Star and a wide range of other plants.
Hilliers have also been working with Enham’s Learning and Employment Services and currently have two disabled people on Workstep Scheme placements, helping them towards achieving their career goals. This provides trainee level staff for Hilliers, whilst providing a fantastic “hands on” work experience for the trainees and giving them the confidence and self esteem to build a career.
Larry Rynsard, Marketing Manager from Hilliers said “it is great to be able to support a charity whose activities are so directly relevant to our business and to everyone involved with it. Helping Enham’s clients, both indirectly through financial support and directly through the employment schemes provides a perfect synergy with our own activities and adds value to our business as well as allowing us to give something back to the community”.
Peter Simon, Senior Corporate Fundraiser said “it is always good to work with businesses that engage with their community in a variety of ways. Our relationship with Hilliers is long established and has grown out of shared interests and goals and I hope that it will continue to blossom in the future. Enham is keen to work with companies in new and innovative ways that can engage their business, its employees and its customers and that achieve tangible outcomes in their community.”
