Lots of gorgeous cake, good conversation and a quirky quiz made for a fantastic Bank Holiday Garden Party fundraiser.

Action Language volunteer and fundraiser extraordinaire, Ann Bingham, held her second Summer Garden Party in two years over the bank holiday. Despite some indifferent weather, Ann and her friends still managed to have a great time and raise more than £500 to help refugees and asylum seekers.

Ann said:  “About 40 people came through the day. A lot of people baked and we had carrot cake, blueberry and lemon cakes, date slices, scones, shortbread biscuits and fruit loaf. It was really nice and some of my neighbours came that I didn’t know, so it was lovely to meet them.

“It was so great to hear strong support being voiced for Action Foundation and the work it does in the North East from folk who are very aware about refugees coming to the UK at the current time.”

Ann, who got lots of support from fellow Action Language volunteers, also devised an alphabetical quiz and awarded bottles of prosecco to the winners.

But as Ann says, hosting a garden party can be as simple and straightforward as you choose to make it:

“A kettle, some cups, tea and a cake is all it takes to welcome people into your garden, providing a venue for people to chat and find out about the work of Action Foundation. You are also giving them the opportunity to support a charity that is making a real difference to many lives in the North East.”

Try Ann’s brain teaser

See if you can answer the quiz question that caused people the most head scratching…

Which word means a garden that requires very little water?

A: Xaridia

B: Xeriscape

C: Xernoaqua

Two of the words were Ann’s own inventions, but the correct answer was B: Xeriscape, which means ‘the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation!’

Ann, who joined our Action Language project as a teaching assistant six years ago, went on to study for a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) three years ago, since when she’s been a fully-fledged volunteer teacher with us. She has also shared her home in Hexham with some of our beneficiaries through our Action Hosting programme.

Thinking of hosting a garden party fundraiser like Ann? Find out more here.

Would you like to become an Action Language volunteer? Visit our Action Language volunteers page for details.