Hulme Community Garden Centre is growing with Kickstarter
For 15 years, Hulme Community Garden Centre’s thriving garden centre and inspiring community gardens have brought local people together and provided a vital green space for their enjoyment, relaxation and education.
The centre's year-round volunteering and training opportunities include supported sessions for those with learning disabilities and mental health issues, toddler groups, school trip programmes and many more.
Each week up to 100 volunteers, aged from 6 months to 83 years old and from a wide variety of backgrounds, help to develop, maintain and manage this green oasis.
Volunteers can also gain valuable insight into how a garden centre works, as they help to produce plants for sale and learn about organic methods of plant care and pest control.
In a typical year we deliver over 10,000 opportunities to encourage people to grow their own food and green their own communities in the hope that this will lead them to more active and healthier lifestyles.
Manchester City Council and our centre users have encouraged us to develop the site, by recently allowing us to take ownership of the adjacent car park – a fantastic opportunity for us to flourish and engage more of the community!
We are about to sign a 20 year lease and would like over this time to build a large multipurpose eco building to house a new shop, offices and volunteer hub.
This is a big project and challenge and it looks like we're going to need a bit of help - this is where you come in!
Over the next few weeks we are aiming to raise awareness of the centre, the work that we do and the challenges that we face, by raising £15,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to allow us to develop our site extension.
Kickstarter is a great crowdfunding platform that offers easy and quick ways to get involved and support us.
Please watch our video and make a pledge here – the page gives a great introduction into what we do at the centre and clearly demonstrates how your ongoing support enables us to consistently achieve great outcomes for individuals and create a positive impact in our community.
If you like what you see, then why not make a pledge or share the page link and help spread the good word!
You can make a donation using the links at the side of the Kickstarter page and if we don't hit our target of £15,000 by July 26th no money will be taken from your account.
If you have any bright ideas about how we can boost this campaign, if you would like to get involved at the garden centre or just call in for a brew, then please do get in touch with Rachel Summerscales here.
To make a donation to our Kickstarter campaign please visit our page.
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Contributor Profile
Centre Manager at Hulme Community Garden Centre
Rachel Summerscales has been Centre Manager at Hulme Community Garden Centre since February 2014 and before that worked as a freelance consultant in the third sector. She strongly believes that the most important factor in any job is that it is enjoyable so that a person can maintain a passionate and motivated approach throughout. Her work at HCGC is overwhelmingly satisfying and she feels she is extremely lucky to be able to hold meetings in a beautiful garden and take tea breaks with the frogs!
