Young gardeners develop skills with grant funding from Gentoo

Rickleton Community Gardening Club has been awarded £300 through our Aspire Grant programme.

Every Tuesday it hosts a gardening club for local children from Rickleton Primary School. Pupils from the school worked with the volunteers to create a new woodland path and planters filled with herbs and flowers.

The Washington based club used the funding to buy spades, forks, rakes, leaf gatherers and a trolley for the garden.

Anita Bargewell, a volunteer at Rickleton Community Gardening Club said: “We are very grateful to Gentoo for the grant funding through the Aspire programme. The children were so excited to use the new equipment – there's always a queue on a Tuesday lunchtime for the gardening club.

“Everyone who works at the garden volunteers their time because we care about the community and want to make it a nice place to live. We work hard, but it's worth it and the children love it.”

Susie Thompson, Executive Director of Housing at Gentoo said: “Aspire Grants are all about bringing communities together and improving spaces for our tenants and residents to enjoy.

“It’s lovely to hear the funding has helped local school children to develop their gardening skills to help create a beautiful garden everyone can enjoy.”

Launched in 2003, our Aspire Grant programme offers grants of up to £500 and has benefited hundreds of local groups and organisations over the years. This includes art, music and drama clubs, toddler play groups, local football clubs, older people’s clubs and resident and community associations.

For more information and to access an application form, visit: www.gentoogroup.com/support/aspire-community-grant-programme/

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