Haskins Garden Centres donated 9,000 purple crocus bulbs to Wimborne Rotary Club in support of the national organisation’s UK awareness campaign – Purple for Polio.
Rotary Clubs across the UK are planting the flowers to spread the colour purple for World Polio Day on Monday October 24.
Members of Wimborne Rotary Club are set to plant to bulbs outside the Allendale Community Centre, Wimborne alongside a sign to inform the public of the campaign.
Pat Adams, Sonia Sargeant and Dominique De La Rue from Haskins’ Ferndown outdoor team presented the bulbs to Sue Young, Robert McBain and Arthur Mosley from Wimborne Rotary Club.
Arthur said: “We are overwhelmed by Haskins’ generosity. I contracted polio in 1947 at the age of 10 and was lucky to make a full recovery. Removing polio from the world will be one of the most significant achievements in public health since the eradication of smallpox.”
Sue added: “With this donation we hope to raise local awareness that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the last three countries in which the polio virus is present.”
Simon Hallam, general manager at Haskins Garden Centre in Ferndown, commented: “I’m delighted that we could help such a worthwhile cause and we look forward to seeing the colourful display next year.”
Haskins Garden Centres is located in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex. For more information, visit www.haskins.co.uk.