Welcome to the serving of the Perennial IOG Blog
I'm Alex Rutherford, one of Perennial’s Regional Managers in Marketing and Fundraising.I look after Scotland!
Looking back, summer was a really busy time for us.Our Special Events were a sell out and my Regional Manager colleagues have all been out and about representing the Charity at shows the length and breadth of the country; from the Royal Cornwall Show to Gardening Scotland and from RHS Chelsea to the Harrogate Spring Show.Perennial has been working hard to raise the funds it needs to support those in your industry who need it the most.
We would be unable to do this without the support of an amazing group of people – our volunteers. They come from many walks of life but have one thing in common – they all want to help.These green fingered folk, toil throughout the year supporting the work of Regional Managers like me.Our job would be impossible without them.Each year they help us in a myriad of ways, like manning plant crèches, sales stands and cloak rooms at shows.
Every now and again a volunteer will come up with a winning idea to help raise funds – like Mike Irwin who decided that he wanted to do his bit to raise money for Perennial.Mike, who at that time was working as Plant Area Manager for Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens, is a keen cyclist.He decided that he would like to challenge himself to raise some money for us by cycling from Loch Lomond to Wisley in Surrey in 8 days.After much route planning and practicing Mike left a cool and drizzly Loch Lomond on 14thJuly and headed off on his challenging adventure.Each day he reported in to let us know how far he had gone and would pass on any interesting stories of the people that he met on his way.Finally he reached Wisley village where he was met on two wheels by our Chief Executive Richard Capewell.From start to finish Mike travelled 444 miles and raised an astonishing £798.
If like Mike you fancy challenging yourself and helping to raise much needed funds for Perennial, then why not see if there is a charity run or walk near you.For example, in 2011 we are hoping to organise a team of walkers to join us for the 6 mile and 12 mile walks of the Great Scottish Walk in Edinburgh – why not encourage your colleagues to join us – it will be a fun day out!
But you don’t have to be as energetic as Mike to help Perennial.If you are going to be at IoG Scotsturf why not look out for our stand and come over and say hello.We will have a wide range of Christmas goods for sale as well and the world renowned Perennial socks!If you missed the opportunity to pick up your socks a Saltex then don’t worry - they will be readily available at Scotsturf too!
At Perennial we are always looking for new ways of doing things.The challenge facing us now is to create new and exciting fundraising events for 2011. We need to come up with ideas which will also get our charity’s message across to you and people like you. So if you fancy holding a golfing day, or if you could help us with a stadium collection, or if you have an idea for a fabulous fundraising event, please get in touch and let’s have a chat
We are very grateful to all of you for your continued support to Perennial.
Hope to see you at Scotsturf!
Alex Rutherford
arutherford@perennial.org.uk
Contact: Head Office: 0845 230 1839Scotland: 0141 334 6523
info@Perennial.org.ukwww.perennial.org.uk
09/08/2010
With big thanks to Geoff, Louise and all our friends at the IOG, Perennial has been offered the chance to do a blog for the IOG’s website.
We’re going to take it in turns to keep the blog up to date – so you’ll be hearing a lot more from my colleagues as the months go by. But I get to go first! I’m, Debbie, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at Perennial, and I’m very proud and honoured to say that we’re the IOG’s charity partner. The IOG chose to link up with us because we’re trade charity for people who work in the grounds care, landscape and amenity industries. If you’re reading this, I guess this means you!
There’s an old cliché at Perennial which goes something like ‘we hope you never need us, but we’ll be here if you do’. Turning to a charity for help is probably the last thing on most people’s mind when they get into difficulties.
But have you ever thought about what would happen to you and your family if you were facing hardship or crisis?
Imagine that you’d fallen ill, and, unable to work, have had to give up your job. Or that you’ve been made redundant. If you’re coming towards the end of your career, have you thought about how you’ll cope when you retire – will you still be able to make ends meet? Or perhaps there’s someone in your family – a parent, partner or child - who is facing difficult circumstances and needs some help.
That’s where we come in. Perennial works on a UK-wide basis, and our 10 caseworkers and 2 debt advisors can help in a huge range of ways - whether the problem’s about housing, welfare, finances, employment, retirement or ill health, we provide expert guidance, advice and support. We also help people to apply for any benefits they’re entitled to, we give grants for equipment and special adaptations, and, in cases of real hardship, funds to help with basic bills and day-to-day essentials. All our services are, of course, entirely FREE and completely CONFIDENTIAL.
If you were at SALTEX last year you might remember Perennial staff and volunteers. – we were the ones selling socks from a wicker pig (don’t ask!). Or we might have driven you round the showground in one of our buggies – well they weren’t actually our buggies, but our IOG friends kindly allowed us run this service and collect donations for Perennial.
These activities were great fun to run, and we’re really grateful to everyone at the IOG and members for their support in helping us to raise vital funds. But being at SALTEX – and its Scottish sister Scotsturf - has another serious purpose for our charity. We need to spread the word about Perennial, and make sure the people who work in your industry knows about what we do and how we can help. With the help of the IOG, this is starting to happen, and the number of groundspeople we helped in the past 12 months increased by 20% over the previous year, to almost 100 people.
What sort of help? Well sometimes it helps to give an illustration – so here are some real examples from the past 12 months: –
- We helped a client to secure long-term sickness benefits after an accident meant he could no longer work.
We gave a grant towards the cost of an adapted shower unit for a client with severe arthritis. We also approached another charity on his behalf to secure the rest of the funds needed. We provided support to a landscape designer whose mother had become very frail, and needed a high level of care at home. We helped with the cost of winter utility bills for a client who had recently been made redundant. We provided debt advice for a client whose business had run into difficulties. He and his family were facing eviction, and our support also helped them to remain in their home. As a charity, we’re so grateful for any support you’re able to can give us, but above all we want you to know we’re here, and to help you when you need us.
Thanks!
Contact:
0845 230 1839 info@perennial.org.ukwww.perennial.org.uk
17/12/2010
A warm winter’s welcome to the Perennial blog. I’m Nigel Palmer and in addition to being Perennials’ Fundraising & Marketing Manager for London & the South East I am also the main link between Perennial and the IOG nationally.
At this time of the year when the ground is frozen and probably covered in snow it brings the challenges of your profession to the fore as people flock to the winter sport events and enjoy leisure time in parks, golf courses and recreation areas around the country. How many will stop to consider the professional planning, preparation and sheer hard work that has enabled them to enjoy their day out – not that many I would suggest.
The working life of the grounds person, landscape or amenity worker rarely reaches the consciousness of the public, unless something goes wrong!
In a sense we share a similar problem – very few hard working professional people will stop and think “What if” whilst working hard day to day to keep the business and/or family running, completing contracts or any other multitude of tasks you handle on a day to day basis. Sadly, the truth is that sometimes things do go wrong – things beyond our control – as illness or financial problems change our daily life. Fortunately, many of us will never know that day, but some of our colleagues will and that’s why we’re here. You may say that people can get benefits from the government agencies – yes, they can but most receive less than they are entitled to from their claim and, as we all know, these services are increasingly being squeezed. Our professional caseworkers regularly increase client’s income and achieve additional grants and benefits.
But we can do much more – the benefits system is by its nature limited to covering the basic needs, often excluding much needed items. We are completely independent and can finance almost anything that is required from cash advances, to buying a washing machine, laptop or perhaps a tank of heating oil for the winter to sadly, financing the court charges when the business has been driven so far down that you can’t even afford to declare bankruptcy.
Our work with the IOG over the last two years has resulted in us being able to offer help to many more of your professional colleagues, many of whom were not aware that we could help them. That is the main aim of our partnership, to raise awareness of Perennial and our services so if the worst happens to you, or someone you know, you know where to turn.
Of course, not everyone will require our help and support and I would ask those that have successful careers and businesses to consider helping us to help your colleagues when they do need us.
We are totally self -financing with no government grants or support. Therefore we need to raise income from our trade. You will find an insert in your membership pack with a donation slip – simply add a few pounds when you renew your membership each year, your small change can make a big difference to those we help. For as little as £25 a year you could join our new Friends scheme, or get your company involved by becoming Perennial Partners with many great opportunities to contact the trade and our supporters. Whatever you can do personally please give a little now to support us. Many people we will help in the coming year don’t know at present that they will need to access our services. Your support will ensure they get the right help, support and advice when they most need it. Thank you.
IOG/ECB Machinery Day 25th January 2011
Letchworth CC Hertfordshire
I was really pleased when Andy Clarke (IOG/ECB Regional Advisor East) contacted me during January and asked me to join him at Letchworth CC on the 25th for the IOG Machinery Day.
This was a first for both Perennial and me. Just a few days earlier after meeting Louise at IOG HQ and being given the contact details of the Regional Advisors, I had sent them all an introductory e mail and Andy was very quick to respond and I want to express our sincere thanks to him for his support and courtesy and hospitality on the day.
Before giving you a review of the day, I would ask you and all the exhibitors on the day to excuse my inexperience and be patient with what will by necessity be a “laymen’s” view of the activities at the event.
The day started well with complimentary bacon baps and coffee whilst the delegates registered and assembled. I was allocated some space in the bar area (Andy, you should have known better!) and then Andy introduced all the exhibitors to the delegates and then divided them into groups.
I started my tour at Stay Sharp with Graham Bryant. My group had a mix of bowling, golf and cricket grounds man. Graham’s business was well received as he will come to site to sharpen and repair cassettes and other plant from the back of his very large and very full Mercedes Sprinter Van (read – fully equipped workshop) His service is really bespoke and offered a known cost sharpening which appealed in particular to the guys on the smaller bowls and school pitches.
Around 30 minutes later we moved on to the Buckles stand which had a full John Deere machinery demonstration. We were given an overview of some of the John Deere product range by one of their sales consultants which from my point of view I learnt a lot about the “technology” behind the kit. I was very impressed with the design features such as handles not mounted directly to the machine and the new eco/green feature which is essentially an extra cutting cassette that feeds the first cuttings through and reduces them to a size that will compost quickly on the surface and therefore negating the need for a grass box. The settings of the machines were incredibly fine. We were also given a maintenance and spares overview with particular emphasis on grease, using the right type for the job and using it regularly. We then had an opportunity to discuss our needs with the Buckle sales staff that had a fine range of equipment on view.
We then ventured a little further along the car park to Lloyds Mowers. They had some of the popular mowers, top dressers and other mowing related equipment. I missed most of the demonstration due to being called back to my stand but I do know the company were 130 years young in 2008 and that is a considerable achievement for any company. It reminded me that Perennial was formed back in 1839 as the Gardeners Benevolent Society (later gaining Royal Patronage) we celebrated our 170th birthday with the IOG’s 75th in 2009. We are already planning something really special for 175th birthday in 2014.
I rejoined the group at the SCH Supplies stand where Andrew Rodwell was giving an overview of the standard and bespoke product range. I was very impressed with the great design and very attractive prices of their standard range of equipment. The interest was very high from the “professional” members of my group and Andrew was kept very busy answering a number of questions.
It started to drizzle at this point but lunchtime had arrived (a very clever piece of planning by Andy) and the group and I headed to the clubhouse. I dutifully manned my stand throughout lunch – which was a very nice chilli con carne served with chips – and copious amounts of tea or coffee.
I was pleased with the response on our stand through that period with a number of delegates taking the time to come and have a chat and find out a little more about the services we offer and how we work with the IOG. We know that awareness of Perennial and the services we can offer to you are not widely know and the IOG are working with us in partnership to address this problem so that when a Groundsman, Sports Turf Professional, Amenity or Landscape college has a problem with physical or mental health, debts, housing or a wide range of other issues they know where to turn.
In 2010 we increased our help to you and your colleges by 175% thanks to our partnership with the IOG.
After lunch I went downstairs and view the extensive display of products from BMS (Better Methods Ltd). They can supply you with anything you need for a golf course including signage and furniture but also displayed a wide range of tools, clothing and general turf care products and accessories.
I returned upstairs to listen to a presentation by Rob Kendle of AT Bone. I found it very interesting to hear a bit about the company and the wide and specialised range of services and bespoke equipment they supply. Rob gave an overview of some of the projects they had worked which were fascinating even including a fleet of snow ploughs that the company have added to the extensive range of services they can offer. Rob then introduced Bretton King from Eco Sol Turfcare who is a specialist deep drill irrigation contractor.
As mentioned previously, please excuse my ignorance of the subject matter (in truth I hadn’t even heard of this procedure before) but Bretton’s overview and presentation was not only very informative but also very engaging. I could go into a fair amount of detail of the technique and how it started and has developed but the one point I will take on was St Andrews: where they had special requirements that necessitated a special long (16”) drill which the company produced and carried out the work. If you have a problem with irrigation and compaction, this appeared to me to be the real answer to the problem.
To summarise, I feel that the 90+ delegates would have learnt much from the day that will be useful in there day to day working routine in addition to the higher tech - cutting edge specialist services that are required by many well known sports venues and pitches.
When the IOG Machinery Day or the IOG in Action Training Days are in your area I would urge you to book in immediately. You will receive first class training, demonstrations, superb hospitality and a chance to meet and chat with your local colleagues in a great venue.
Nigel Palmer
