When we sat down to plan our Christmas fundraising, groups of six people were allowed to gather inside. Everyone felt the children deserved something special after such a tough year, so we decided to hold an event to raise money for class parties. We couldn’t risk having it cancelled at the last minute, so we chose a Christmas wreath-making workshop. We told everyone that the event would go ahead no matter what, and explained it would move online if restrictions changed.
One of the parents recommended Jade at Jade Green Flowers to host the workshops. Jade doesn’t have a shop and runs her business online, so we knew we’d be in safe hands if something did happen. She’s such a kind person, and she looked after us from the start.
We planned for Jade to hold face-to-face workshops for groups of friends in one of their houses with everyone social distancing. We asked people to get together in groups and sold tickets in blocks, offering slots at different times. Evenings were really popular and sold out in two days – we could have sold twice as many. Each person paid £30 for the workshop: £20 went to Jade and £10 to the PTA. Unfortunately, Covid rates were creeping up.
On 1 November, the government announced a UK lockdown, and we let everyone know we’d be moving our event to Zoom.
Jade provided wreath-making kits containing wire, foliage and decorations, and the PTA delivered them to people’s homes. Each workshop lasted an hour and a half, giving everyone plenty of time for tuition – some jolly groups needed to go back a step or two if the wine was flowing. Jade’s warm personality made the workshops enjoyable for everyone who participated, and we got great feedback. Working with a professional who was so patient made all the difference.
The workshops made £410 profit, and the class parties were a hit! The teachers were relieved to have the pressure taken off and the children enjoyed dancing, crafts and quizzes. Each child also received a Santa hat and a party bag on the last day of term.
Melanie Da Costa and Gemma Tremayne, joint chairs, St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Banstead (420 pupils)
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