Garden centre team digs deep for charity walk

A team of 12 colleagues from the business are planning the charity walk in the Yorkshire Dales to raise money for Candlelighters, the Leeds charity that supports Yorkshire families facing children’s cancer.

The walk will take place on Saturday, September 15 and the idea came from the centre’s marketing assistant, Pete Casci. He will be walking with Tong team mates including Emma Wiltshire, Dennis Keen, Sharon McNair and Janice Astbury and the team hopes to raise £2,000.

The team at Tong aims to raise £10,000 for Candlelighters in 2018 through a series of fund-raising events and collection boxes at the tills.

Earlier in the year, Tong’s Managing Director Mark Farnsworth led a team of cyclists to complete the Tour de Yorkshire challenge and raised £3,400 for the charity.

A spokesman said: “We’re really looking forward to pulling our boots on for the trek around Malham Tarn as it’s such a beautiful area to walk in, although with over 630 metres of climbing, it will be challenging!

“We’ve got a good spread of staff from departments including catering, customer services and retail representing the Centre, so it’s a real team effort.

“Everyone has been preparing by going on locals walks and spending time in the gym, so we’ll all be raring to go when the day comes.”

The Candlelighters Trust (Candlelighters) is a children’s cancer charity that provides practical, emotional and financial support to children.

To support the Tong team’s charity walk, please visit https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/tong-garden.