Forget-me-not display raises £20,000

Aerial view of Birmingham St Mary's forget me not display in Brindleyplace

A sea of metal flowers in the heart of Birmingham city centre has helped raise £20,000 for a local hospice.

Earlier this month, Birmingham St Mary’s planted more than 1,000 pink wrought-iron flowers in Brindleyplace, as part of the charity’s annual Forget Me Not appeal. Each flower was donated by local people and celebrated the lives of loved ones who are no longer with us.

Lucy Watkins, head of fundraising at Birmingham St Mary’s, said: “The generosity of the public and the support on social media has been overwhelming – it’s been fantastic to see the city welcome back our Forget Me Not appeal with such warmth for the second year
running.

“Although the display has now come down, there is still time for people to make a donation and take home one of our beautiful flowers as a lasting tribute to their loved one. Every contribution will help provide vital care to local people and their families living with life-limiting illness.”

Every day, Birmingham St Mary’s cares for 350 people living with life-limiting illness – whether that’s at the hospice, in people’s own homes, or in the community. It costs £8m to run the hospice each year, so it truly relies on the generosity of local people to fund its crucial services.

Donations for a flower by visiting one of the hospice’s 16 shops across Birmingham or visiting www.birminghamhospice.org.uk/forgetmenot

The week-long display was also an opportunity to see the forget-me-not flower dedicated to chocolate maker George Cadbury – who was voted the city’s top Brummie in a Twitter poll organised by the hospice and supported by the Birmingham Civic Society.

High-profile local people also supported the appeal, including Line of Duty’s Claudia Jessie, This Morning’s Alison Hammond, ITV’s Bob Warman and BBC WM’s Llewela Bailey.

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