At 7pm on Wednesday, 6th April, florist Shane Connolly, who holds royal warrants of appointment to both HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales, will host ‘Flowers for Ukraine’, an online floristry demonstration, which Shane hopes will raise over £10,000 for the British Red Cross Society’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal. As many good ideas these days, it all began with a post on social media.
When Shane announced on Instagram that he would offer free floral demonstrations to groups in exchange for substantial donations for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, it sparked an idea in the mind of Gill Hodgson, founder of Flowers from the Farm. Gill invited Shane to share a floral demonstration online for the masses for a smaller sum per person, giving everyone the opportunity to donate.
Shane said: “The news from Ukraine in the past few weeks has been overwhelming. Raising money for humanitarian efforts by doing what I do in a purposeful way feels like a positive and constructive thing to do, and I love Gill’s idea of scaling things up! We’re asking over 1000 flower-lovers to donate at least £10 each on the ‘Flowers for Ukraine with Shane Connolly' JustGiving page to generate over £10,000 for the British Red Cross Society’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal. Every single penny raised will go directly to the Appeal. When you donate, you will be invited to join me live online from 7pm to 8pm on Wednesday, 6th April for a celebration of the language of flowers, sustainable floral design and the sheer beauty of locally-grown, springtime blooms.”
Global audience
As the florist who memorably decorated Westminster Abbey with an avenue of growing trees for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Shane Connolly attracts a global audience for his knowledge of the language of flowers, his love of local, seasonal cut flowers and foliages and his passion for foam-free, sustainable floral design.
The freshly cut flowers and foliages for this charity fundraiser are being generously donated by members of Flowers from the Farm, the not-for-profit membership association championing nearly 1000 artisan growers of local, seasonal, scented British cut flowers across the UK. Unique Media are supporting the event by donating their technical filming and livestreaming expertise for free.
Shane Connolly has set up a just giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ukraineshane and is asking for a minimum donation of £10 to raise as much money as possible for the Appeal. All donors will be invited to attend the live online ‘Flowers for Ukraine’ event and will afterwards be able to access a video recording of the floral demonstration. All proceeds from the event will be donated directly to the British Red Cross Society’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
Flowers from the FarmLiz Anderson, PR
T: 01952 501594
M: 07976 061092 pr@flowersfromthefarm.co.uk
www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk