Registered charity numbers: 1155156, SC040180
Perennial is the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping people who work, or have worked, in horticulture, when times get tough.
Horticulture can be a satisfying and enjoyable career that people feel passionate about, however it is a livelihood that invariably depends on good health and physical strength. Illness or injury can have a devastating effect on entire families relying on someone that works in the industry. Low income, job insecurity and retirement often present additional problems.
Perennial (formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society) has provided free and confidential help, support, advice and financial assistance to people of all ages working in, or retired from horticulture in the UK for over 175 years.
From the beginning the charity provided a source of income for gardeners in retirement, recognising that many had spent their lives as low-paid workers on estates and public gardens and had little or no means of looking after themselves in their later years, as well as often losing their tied property.
Today the needs of Perennial’s clients generally relate to disability, sickness, poverty, financial hardship and old age, but increasingly its support is being sought by those under retirement age. The financial and social pressures on those working in and retired from horticulture are acute, as the profession is still relatively low paid and physically gruelling.
The charity helps over 1,200 people every year including spouses, partners and dependent children, with a nationwide team of caseworkers and debt advisers ensuring people get back on their feet.
With Charity Car, your old car could provide essential funds for Perennial, which is described by the families it has supported as a ‘lifeline’.
