A campaign to create a peaceful new garden for stroke and cancer patients at Wexham Park Hospital has featured in a BBC TV programme.
An episode of One Day That Changed My Life followed Eden Ward staff and the Frimley Health Charity team as they bid for thousands of pounds in corporate funding.
The money would add to the significant financial and ‘in kind’ donations the project has already received from staff, patients and the wider community.
The TV show, broadcast on BBC1 on 1 July, saw complementary therapist Michele Martin pitch the vision for the Eden garden to Colin Gadd, chief executive of tape specialist Shurtape UK.
She told him it will be a sanctuary where patients with cancer and those who have had a stroke can spend time on their own or with their families and friends.
The blueprints include a spacious pavilion which will allow the garden to be used year-round and in all weathers.
TV viewers saw Shurtape pledge an initial £7,500 towards the building works and a further £1,000 for ongoing maintenance.
Michele said: “We are so grateful for Shurtape’s generous contribution.
“We forgot the cameras were there most of the time as we got so involved in our discussions about how the patients would benefit.”
Colin added: “This is a cause close to the hearts of many of our team and customers, many of whom live close to the hospital.
“We had been looking for the right charity partner for the business and Michele’s passion for her patients’ care won us over.”
The garden project was inspired Ryan Cardrick, a haematology patient at Wexham Park in 2018 who spoke of the potential for “a beautiful space where I could safely sit with my family and feel less like a patient for a while”.
Ryan’s family have given £1,350 towards the project, including donations at his funeral in October and money raised at a coffee morning last year.
Other support for the garden so far includes:
- Berkshire builder Hodgson & Sons has donated manpower, expertise and experience
- Construction firm Kier is donating bricks and sand for the ground works
- Lucy Gardner Smith and her husband Matthew have so far raised £3,000 through a series of fitness challenges
- Eden Ward charge nurse Matteo Anfora completed a 10,000ft skydive, raising over £400
- The local community, including Coca Cola and KP in Slough, have completed 100 hours of hard work
- Pinewood Nurseries, near the hospital, is running a plant bank for customers to donate flowers and shrubs to the project
- A generous donation from Ascot Round Table 929
- Financial contributions from the local community
The garden is set to open in September.
You can support the project at www.justgiving.com/campaign/edengarden