Charlotte Hawkins visits secret garden event in Tonbridge

ellenor celebrity Patron, Charlotte Hawkins, journalist and presenter on ‘Good Morning Britain’, was the special guest at an ellenor Secret Gardens event held on 9 August at the Tonbridge home of one of the charity’s Ambassadors, Victoria Sampson.

Charlotte, who was accompanied by her husband, Mark, and baby, Ella Rose, enjoyed mingling with the nearly 100 guests – including Nick Green, branch manager of Handelsbanken in Tunbridge Wells; Lee Reeves-Perrin, business partner at CooperBurnett; and Emma Roberts, chief executive of Creaseys – which is currently supporting ellenor.

Food was donated by Matthew Sankey of Sankey’s in Tunbridge Wells – who served up a delicious paella; music was courtesy of singer Tom Haacke, who also donated his time; and guests baked a selection of delicious cakes.

Charlotte, who has been a Patron of ellenor (formerly chYps Children’s Hospice at Home) for a year now, said: “It is such an honour and a privilege to be a Patron. When I met some of the families ellenor helps, it struck me how despite everything they are going through, just how happy the young patients are. It was really clear the positive difference ellenor makes to their lives.”

Victoria Sampson, a corporate partner at the Tunbridge Wells-based law firm, CooperBurnett, and current President of West Kent Chamber of Commerce, has been an Ambassador for ellenor since 2012.

She opened up her garden to friends and family under the ellenor Secret Gardens initiative – where individuals or businesses throw open their outside space to raise money for the charity.

Victoria’s event, which was blessed with beautiful sunshine, raised more than £1,000 for ellenor – taking the current figure for the Secret Gardens programme to more than £20,000.

ellenor is a charity funded by the generosity of the local community, offering the best care and support to families facing terminal illness in Kent. ellenor needs to raise £6.7 million each year to continue to provide its vital services.

CooperBurnett has set itself the goal of raising £10,000 for ellenor over the next 12 months – with events including a quiz night and a curry night and a team taking on the Three Peaks Challenge.

“I am very proud to be associated with ellenor – the work the charity does is inspirational,” said Victoria. “ellenor provides invaluable care and support to babies, children and teenagers, their parents, siblings and family members through what are extremely difficult and unimaginable times.”

Adds Rachel Holweger, Fundraising Director at ellenor: “We are so grateful to Victoria for all her hard work organising this wonderful event and for her ongoing support of ellenor. We really appreciate everything that Victoria and her colleagues at CooperBurnett are doing this year to reach their goal of raising £10,000 for ellenor.Our special thanks to Charlotte Hawkins and her family for attending Victoria’s event, we are so fortunate to have such great Ambassadors and Patrons working alongside us.”

To find out more about opening your garden for ellenor, as part of the Secret Gardens campaign, contact Angela Ward on tel: 01474 320007 or email: angela.ward@ellenor.org