Community spirit sees Otter raise £42,000 for Hospiscare

Otter Garden Centres in Ottery St Mary has announced it raised a total of £42,170 for local charity Hospiscare during 2025, revealed at a special thank-you event for volunteers.

The Festive Adventure in December raised £27,826 towards this total. Now in its second year, this magical Christmas experience gave children the chance to peek inside Mrs Claus’s kitchen, join animated reindeer singalongs, explore a snowy winter wonderland and enjoy a land train ride. Volunteers from Hospiscare’s fundraising team fully embraced the festive spirit, dressing as elves while helping children write letters to Santa and prepare packets of reindeer food. Every penny raised went directly to Hospiscare.

A further £14,344 was generated throughout the year via a series of additional fundraisers organised by Otter’s charity team and Hospiscare volunteers, including raffles, bingo and quiz nights, as well as donation buckets for customers enjoying Otter’s singing penguin Christmas animation.

Managing Director Jacqui Taylor, alongside Lara White and Lauren Pearcy from Otter Garden Centre, attended the volunteer thank-you event held at Ottery Football Club, where the final fundraising amount from Otter was unveiled. With other activities run by the volunteer team, including a fete at Cadhay, a men’s walk, plant sale and coffee mornings, the total raised locally was around £78,000.

Hospiscare Area Fundraiser for East Devon, Toni Hiscocks, described the total as “phenomenal”. Toni, whose father was cared for by Hospiscare and who volunteered at the Festive Adventure, said: “The generosity of Otter and all the volunteers is awesome. This will make a huge difference to the charity. When you consider the costs we face, over £1,000 for just 24 hours of care on the ward at Searle House and £650 for a specialist mattress, alongside the vital work of our nurses, therapists and counsellors, it’s clear why fundraising is so critical.”

Otter has confirmed that its Ottery St Mary garden centre will continue to support Hospiscare as its chosen charity. This marks the seventh consecutive year of the partnership, which has raised more than £110,000 since 2019. The commitment also means the much-loved Festive Adventure will return again this December.

MD Jacqui said: “We’ve developed a very special relationship with Hospiscare, a charity that plays an incredibly important role in our local community. We know how challenging it is to fund these essential services, and we’re committed to continuing to support them in every way we can.”

Hospiscare provides specialist care for patients and their families living with life-limiting illnesses across Exeter, Central and East Devon, supporting close to 2,200 people each year. With only around 20 per cent of its funding coming from the NHS, the charity must raise £10 million annually to continue delivering care across the region.