Bruntwood’s annual charity campaign is back for 2021 to give back to its local communities and help spread joy this Christmas. 

The Wishing Tree aims to collect gifts that will be donated for The Growing Project, a local charitable initiative from Grand Union Arts. 

The campaign encourages Bruntwood’s employees, customers, and the local business community to give back by donating a gift from The Growing Project’s wishlist. This year the wishlist is back to being displayed as physical gift tags on Christmas trees within Bruntwood buildings. We have set up a Just Giving page for anyone interested in donating the gift of a voucher to The Growing Project. 

The Growing Project is a community-led garden scheme based in Birmingham, working with organisations who support the vulnerably-housed and those experiencing crisis. 

Aiming to ‘Green-Sense’ the city, The Growing Project nurtures sites across Birmingham by “growing food and creating green spaces.” These sites are developed, tended, and nurtured by people experiencing difficult times. 

The project creates visible platforms that help to change perceptions of vulnerable people, celebrating their production and demonstrating their positive contributions to society.

The Growing Project is collaborative at heart and the team includes residents from the hostels, artists, volunteers, businesses, Spring Housing, St. Anne’s Hostel, Crisis, and SIFA Fireside: charities that work with vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness.

Your voucher donations will help to cover the cost of leading gardening engagement sessions at each of The Growing Project gardens. 

The Growing Project is facilitated by 2 artist gardeners and 1 artist chef. Each week Matt, Carolyn, and Kirsty lead gardening activity sessions with residents, participants and volunteers. Gardening activity sessions run throughout the year, pausing over Winter and starting again in Spring. The gardening engagement sessions are held for 3 hours, once a week, at each of The Growing Project’s 4 sites. 

These sessions vary, and in the past have included: Cyanotype printing , Card making, Cooking, Making teas, Canvas making, Harvesting produce.

The Growing Project brings about transformation through growing and cooking food together, helping to create social cohesion, combat isolation, and give opportunities for community building. The Growing Project shows how through taking positive steps we can tackle issues of homelessness, isolation, social and economic inequality, promote health and wellbeing, and create community-led inclusive solutions to regenerating our cities. 

Your voucher donation will: