Sponsored walk to take Petrus service users one step closer to Tatton Park

Service users from local homelessness charity Petrus are doing a sponsored walk to raise funds for their return to the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.

The Petrus PIER – Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale – team are heading back to Tatton to exhibit their new back-to-back garden, ‘Full Circle’, this July.

Service users and volunteers from Petrus are undertaking a two-and-a-half-mile sponsored walk today (Wednesday 9 June) around several locations including Hollingworth Lake supported by staff to help raise much-needed funds to get them to the prestigious flower show.

They will also be joined by staff from fellow support provider Early Break and individuals supported through the Greater Manchester Housing First pilot who have also experienced homelessness.

At the 2019 Tatton Park show, Petrus service users and volunteers won both the Silver Medal and the People’s Choice Award for their 'Petrus’ Paradise' garden designed by service users, volunteers and staff which reflected a service user's journey through life with Petrus.

 

 

The experience was extremely positive and saw the group work together to overcome the challenges that they have faced through experiencing homelessness to give back to the community and take on the incredible task to exhibit at such a major event.

Service user Les said: “The odds were against us in getting the silver medal; we had a lot against us really and we had to prove our worth at the ceremony. I just felt great when we won, I just kept thinking 'How could we have done this?' We're just a team from Rochdale and we thought ‘How could somebody from adverse worlds produce such beautiful work?’”

Eileen, who volunteers at the PIER garden, added: “Being part of Tatton Flower Show in 2019 was marvellous, it's one of the best experiences of my life actually. It was such good fun building up the garden, we had a good laugh, we were tired – it was exhausting, but we really pulled together as a team. It was fabulous and then obviously the icing on the cake was that we won, not only the silver medal but the People's Choice, which was just perfect really because it did so much to up the image of people who have been homeless.”

An online donation page has been set up by Petrus service users to collect donations from the community and local businesses, to help get the team to Tatton to exhibit this year and have the opportunity to challenge stigmas and negative stereotypes associated with homelessness.

Their new garden that they have designed together called ‘Full Circle’ reflects need to go back to nature to find solutions to the effects of climate change causing flooding and gives a nod to the industrial heritage of Rochdale where water was crucial to our town’s survival.

How to support

Take a walk, make a donation
Choose a walk local to you you’d like to do and then support Petrus service users as they do theirs through donating to their online sponsorship page.

Arrange your own sponsored walk
Organise your own solo or group sponsored walk with friends, family or colleagues. Set up your own fundraising page to raise funds directly for Petrus and ask people to sponsor you. You’ll find all the information you need in the ‘Fundraise in support’ section.

Support a service user or volunteer
Sponsor Petrus service users and volunteers as they do their walk.

Spread the word
Share Petrus service users’ sponsorship link with your friends, family, colleagues or on your social media to spread the word and encourage them to get involved.

Have ideas to support Petrus?
For any individuals or businesses who’d like to support Petrus to get to Tatton through other donations, please get in touch with them at fundraising@regenda.org.uk