THE season of giving continues at The Lost Gardens of Heligan as the gardens and estate announce their charity of the year 2025, St Petrocs.

Heligan would traditionally open its gates for its chosen charity on New Year’s Day however, with wind speeds forecasted to hit 70mph, this special day was postponed.

For businesses like The Lost Gardens of Heligan, it’s relatively easy to make day to day changes to keep their visitors and staff safe. For people who are experiencing homelessness in Cornwall, staying safe, warm, healthy and dry this winter simply isn’t that straightforward.

During a rescheduled charity day, on Sunday January 5, St Petrocs chief executive, Henry Meacock, and the St Petrocs team, met Heligan staff and visitors to spread awareness of homelessness and the Winter Services that this incredible charity offer.

Henry Meacock, chief executive at St Petrocs said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen by the team at The Lost Gardens of Heligan to be their charity partner for 2025. We are humbled by the generosity of the staff and visitors who enjoyed the gardens on this charity day.

“A sincere thank you to everybody who supported the day. All the money raised will go directly to our frontline services supporting people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. We look forward to working with the team at Heligan throughout the year to raise awareness of how we can all be part of the solution and end homelessness in Cornwall.”

St Petrocs Winter Services run alongside their year-round services and provide them with more room-spaces and opportunity to place people in emergency accommodation.

From November 1 – December 31 2024, St Petrocs Winter Services has provided over 900 nights worth of emergency accommodation for 47 people who otherwise would have been outside in cold, unsafe conditions.

In this time, 21 people have moved on into longer term accommodation and only one person has returned to sleeping rough. The Winter Services will continue into the spring and the goal is to provide people with the opportunity to start a life away from homelessness for good.

Laura Chesterfield, managing director at The Lost Gardens of Heligan said, “We would like to thank all our visitors and staff who have given so generously on our annual charity day. We know how much the fundraising means to St Petrocs and we are delighted to help raise the profile of the wonderful work they do.”

This new partnership will see The Lost Gardens working with St Petrocs to raise vital funds and awareness throughout 2025.