We’re really excited to announce

our Ottery St Mary garden centre has raised a record £37,000 for local charity Hospiscare

– nearly double our original £20,000 target.

The Festive Adventure

The highlight was the ‘Festive Adventure for Hospiscare’, which saw families enjoy a magical Christmas experience, including a winter wonderland, animated reindeer singalongs, and a land train ride. Hospiscare volunteers played a key role at the event, helping children make reindeer food and write letters to Santa. A dedicated evening for children with special educational needs (SEN) was particularly well received.

Lara White, who is the granddaughter of our founders Malcolm and Marilyn, helped run the event. She said: “It was lovely to see families enjoying the Christmas magic in such an authentic way; there were plenty of smiles and happy faces.”

Other Fundraising

Beyond the Festive Adventure, Otter’s charity team and Hospiscare volunteers organised raffles, quizzes, and tombolas, raising an additional £14,000.

Charity team member Lauren Pearcy, whose mother was cared for by Hospiscare, says it was a team effort: “The whole team really got behind the fundraising—we couldn’t have done it without the incredible support of Otter staff and Hospiscare volunteers.”

The Total Revealed!

Lara and Lauren revealed the total raised at a special thank-you event for the volunteers.

Hospiscare Area Fundraiser Toni Hiscocks said: “On behalf of everyone at Hospiscare we would like to extend our deepest thanks for the incredible support and generosity of Otter. The Festive Adventure was a truly magical event, bringing joy to so many families – and of course our volunteers – whilst raising essential funds for Hospiscare.

“We are so grateful for the continued partnership and support of Otter, especially during their special anniversary year. The business also supports our Open Garden and Christmas Tree Campaign, and the vital funds raised means we can continue our work enabling local families to receive the specialist end-of-life care they need during the most difficult time.”

Another year of support to come!

The Ottery team has just announced that Hospiscare will remain our chosen charity for 2025, marking a sixth consecutive year of support; since 2019, we have raised over £71,000 for the cause.

Our MD, Jacqui Taylor said: “As a family-run business, we’re committed to supporting our community. Hospiscare provides a crucial service to that community, and I can’t wait to see what we achieve together this year.”

Thank you to the volunteers

A BIG thank you to all the Hospiscare volunteers who have helped us raise the grand total!

Hospiscare volunteers who helped at the Festive Adventure included Bob Joy who ensured the safety and comfort of families on the land train, Coleen Simon who made up reindeer food and swept up reindeer ‘droppings’ and Lisa Glanville, who was elated by the way the children’s faces lit up as they explored the different scenes.