A Shropshire charity is set to have a boost after being chosen as the charity of the year by a county business after a chance meeting at a networking event.
Apley Farm Shop will spend the financial year raising money for Severn Hospice, which gives specialist care and support to families across Shropshire and North Powys who are living with an incurable illness.
The commitment came about after Linda Harris, Business Development Manager at Apley, met the Fundraising Manager at Severn Hospice, Jenny Bean, at the Network of Women event when it was held at Stockton House, the nearby historic hall and wedding venue which is part of the Apley Estate.
It means there will be buckets collecting for Severn Hospice at all events at Apley Farm Shop, on the A442 between Telford and Bridgnorth, between now and April 2027. The charity will be invited to have a stall at the events on the site.
Jenny Bean said: “It was a pleasure meeting Linda at the networking event and discovering how closely our values and commitment to the community aligned.
“It is always exciting to make new connections within the local business community, and we are hugely grateful to Linda and everyone at Apley Farm Shop for choosing Severn Hospice as their Charity of the Year.
“Their fundraising efforts and support from their visitors will help us continue providing specialist care to families during the most difficult of times.
“Every single pound helps and with more than £10 million needed to be raised each year to fund our services, support from local businesses and communities is truly invaluable.
“We’re looking forward to working with Linda and the team throughout the year and seeing the positive impact we can make together for local families.”
Linda Harris added: “We are delighted to be raising money for Severn Hospice, it is a great local charity which helps so many people in their time of need.
“As soon as Jenny and I met at the Network of Women event at Stockton House, I knew I wanted them to be our charity of the year. She showed just what they do and how vital it is that they continue to raise money to keep up their good work.
“We look forward to raising as much as we can for Severn Hospice at all the events at Apley Farm Shop this year.
“There is plenty going on so we hope our visitors to our Class Motor Day, summer markets, Country Show, halloween events, fireworks events and Christmas events are all feeling very generous throughout the year.
“We also look forward to spreading the word about the wonderful work this charity does.”
Apley is also the custodian of 1,500 acres of woodland, a further 3,500 acres of in hand farmland farmed to high environmental standards and 3,500 acres of let farmland.
The company also runs the popular butchery, café and playbarn on the Apley Farm Shop site, and Apley on the High Street, a café in Bridgnorth Town Centre.
Each venture is run and managed with a vision for heritage, environment and community, with each decision carefully considering restoration, sustainability and developing relationships.
For more information about Severn Hospice visit https://www.severnhospice.org.uk/ and for information about Apley visit www.apleyestate.co.uk.
