Charity’s no longer left Want-ing

A charity which helps vulnerable people through gardening, that was left homeless, has been given a Christmas base at a Hatfield shopping centre. Waste Not Want Not was forced to leave its Codicote home last month, and has been scouring the county for a new spot ever since. Now The Galleria has stepped in and allowed the group to use its Learning Garden to sell seasonal wares in the build-up to Christmas.

Charity patron, the green-fingered 80s pop star singer Kim Wilde, is “delighted” with the move. Isobel Barnes, charity leader, thanked the WHT for highlighting Waste Not Want Not’s plight and said the move will help the charity get back on its feet. She said: “I think it is absolutely wonderful, we are thrilled to bits because we have got somewhere to store and grow our plants – but now we have somewhere to sell them. We have had a really bad year financially and we have had to find a new site.”

She said the move would get the charity back on its feet, stating: “We are delighted and also a lot of people from across Hertfordshire come to the Galleria and we will be able to recruit new volunteers and people will be able to donate things to us.”

The project is run by volunteers who help people who have had major traumas in their lives and use horticulture as a therapeutic tool to turn their lives around. In the run up to Christmas the volunteers will be selling Christmas trees, wreathes, door garlands and table arrangements at the Learning Garden, on the northern perimeter of The Galleria’s parking area.

Codicote’s Kim Wilde is heavily involved with the group and the Kids in America star said: “I am a great advocate of bringing plants and people together and believe profoundly in the healing and therapeutic value of getting out into the garden. I have met several of the volunteers and listened first hand as they shared their stories of how much the Waste Not Want project means to them. I am delighted the project is moving to The Galleria as it’s a great new start for everyone.”