South Staffordshire College helps to raise over £17,000 for St Giles Hospice with ceramic flowers 

South Staffordshire College has shown its support to St Giles Hospice by creating ceramic flowers for an art installation marking the 40^th anniversary of a special campaign. 

Students from the art and design department at Lichfield College made close to 700 ceramic gerbera flowers – each with individual styling – as part of the hospice’s Celebrate Lives Lived fundraiser. 

The campaign allows members of the public to donate money and dedicate a flower in memory of a loved one. The flower is then displayed in a memorial garden for a month. 

As 2023 marks the 40^th anniversary of the campaign, the hospice wanted to create a bold and impactful display of remembrance to cover the whole of their memorial garden, similar to the poppy display created at the Tower of London several years ago. 

Trade students from Rodbaston College were also involved by adding a metal spike to the gerberas to allow them to be inserted into the ground for use in the display. 

Donations to dedicate a flower (one pictured below) in memory of a loved one started six weeks ago and have so far reached over £17,100. 

The Lichfield-based hospice has said the average donation has increased “drastically” this year. 

Claire Pinder-Smith, the college’s Curriculum Manager for Creative and Digital, said “As St Giles Celebrate their 40^th year, Lichfield College are incredibly privileged to be supporting St Giles Hospice, and the valuable work they do for our community. 

“We have had close to 100 learners working towards the Celebrate Lives Lived campaign and we are so proud to see the fantastic work our students are doing in producing each of the individual gerberas, each one with a personal dedication, representing a life lived. 

“We are really looking forward to installing the ceramic gerberas in the memorial gardens and creating a wonderful display of celebration and remembrance.” 

The hospice’s gardens will be open for the public to see the gerberas throughout May, with a virtual gallery available all year round. 

For more information, click here, call 01543 432538 or email [email protected].