Blue bow bonanza
Front door fundraiser tops £13,000
An uplifting fundraiser which has seen Scarborough’s front doors covered in blue bows has raised a staggering £13,000.
Kind-hearted local florists came up with the idea of offering the door ribbons in return for donations as a way for the community to show their support and gratitude to health workers.
The team announced the total with an emotional video which has been shared across
social media; you can watch the video with this story on our website.
Michelle Brown from Flowers of Distinction on North Marine Road, Claire Fenwick from Forget Me Not Florist on Victoria Road and Claire Warburton from Rose Garden Florist on Dean Road said they were inundated with requests.
Claire Fenwick said: “It’s been unbelievable, it’s just crackers. I’ve lost count of how many bows we have made but it must be thousands.”
As well as making bows for homes all across Scarborough, the florists have posted some out as far as Wales and Glasgow. One resident, who lives on Durham Street, asked for 61 bows, one for each house on the street.
As word spread, the team were joined by two other local florists keen to help – Daisy Dot Flower Shop in Filey and Minnie Bee’s Floral Design of Cloughton.
Of the money raised, £10,000 will go to Scarborough Hospital, £2,000 will go to Saint Catherine’s and £1,000 will go towards a memorial garden at Cross Lane Hospital. They have also raised £800 for a brain research charity by creating a batch of rainbow bows.
And they made a special batch of green and yellow bows free of charge for colleagues of the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician from Scarborough who died last month after contracting coronavirus.
The florists wanted to mark the success of the project by creating the video, which includes touching tributes to several loved ones and friends they have lost.
The team are now bringing the project to a close and looking at how they can return to their work. But Claire said they are hoping to make the bows an annual scheme to raise money for charities.