We wish to give an enormous thank you to the Hankinson/Hawkins family and Hope Grove Nurseries for a fabulous and generous donation of £8,000.
Earlier in 2017, Sean Hawkins underwent an 8-hour long open heart surgery to correct a previously undiagnosed rare and life-threatening congenital heart condition called ALCAPA. It was understandably a difficult time for all the family, who are pleased to report that Sean has been recovering well at home. Sean’s parents were grateful for the help and support they received from ECHO and for the care their son received at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and they decided they wanted to try and help other families in a similar situation.
Hopes Grove Nurseries in Kent is predominately a mail order/internet nursery – but they have 8 open weekends a year where they open to the public. The family decided to open an extra day this year – July 21st – to raise money for ECHO, with 100% of the sales donated to the charity.
Sean’s stepfather Morris told us, “After 25 years of building the business from one man and a lot of hard physical work; growing plants to nearly 100 acres over 3 sites within Kent with 16 local staff, we decided that we really want to become actively involved in the community and charity projects. This year for the first time we will be not only supporting local charities but, sending 100% of the proceeds from July 21st to ECHO”.
The open day featured a wide range of perennials, lavender, box, topiary, clematis and shrubs and was also a fantastic celebration that Sean and his twin brother Owen were together and able to help with the family business, all thanks to the skill and expertise of Evelina London’s medical teams.
Through this unique, fantastic fundraiser, essentially donating all plants sold on Fri 21st July 2017, Hope Grove Nurseries raised over £8,000 for ECHO.
ECHO are simply delighted to receive this generous, wonderful donation and we thank all of the family and paying customers for their support. It is truly lovely to hear from families who have benefitted from support from ECHO and this donation is such an amazing way for ECHO to continue our work helping children and young people with heart conditions and their families.