Thousands of visitors to Norfolk tulip fields help raise over £90k for charity
The money is all going to The Norfolk Hospice
Visitors to a tulip field in West Norfolk have raised a record-breaking £93,392 for charity this season.
Tulip growers Mark and Susanne Eves from PS & JE Ward of Belmont Nurseries in Terrington St Clement worked with The Norfolk Hospice to open the 28-acre tulip field to the public for 10 days.
The event, which is the only one of its kind in the country, sold out within four days of tickets being released.
Over 10 thousand people turned out to see the stunning display, with some travelling long distances to see the flowers in full bloom.
Last year, Tulips for Tapping, raised over £21,500 for the Hillington-based Hospice - but that was smashed this year.
The record breaking total is the largest the Hospice fundraising team have ever achieved for an event and the catering team were involved in baking tulip themed biscuits and cakes.
Over seventy-five volunteers from the Hospice and local businesses gave their time to ensure that the event was a success.
Mark and Susanne Eves, from PS & JE Ward Ltd of Belmont Nurseries, said: “It is our pleasure and privilege to work alongside The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House for this amazing fundraising event.
"We only grow the tulips and much of the hard work comes from the fundraising team and all the volunteers that gave their time to help.
“We are truly astounded by the amount raised and humbled in knowing what a difference it will make to those people that are supported by the Hospice.”
Lindsey Atkin, Community & Corporate Fundraising Manager at The Norfolk Hospice, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Mark and Susanne once again for this special event and we are so thankful to them, our amazing volunteers and everyone who supported Tulips for Tapping.
“We’d also like to give special thanks to Michael Rae, Roydon Hall Farms and our main sponsor Stebbings Car Superstore and our supporters Algeco, Baco Compak, Bawsey Country Park, Rudd Marquees, Rural Broadband and T M Browne.
“We are absolutely stunned by the total raised and still can’t quite believe it! It will make a huge difference after such a challenging couple of years.”
All the money raised will go towards the running costs of the hospice, which costs £7,500 a day to run.
They offer care services free of charge to local families facing life-limiting illnesses.