Ravenscroft staff and their families spent a morning planting trees and hawthorn bushes after an appeal from The Little Chapel Foundation.

The foundation is facing a funding crisis as it usually expects around £50,000 a year in donations from visitors. With the borders closed and income dwindling to almost nothing, the foundation has had to focus its funds on essential maintenance.

‘Our priority has to be the urgent and vital work to the structure of the Little Chapel, in particular the foundations underneath the grotto which needs to be done before winter but this unfortunately leaves no money for landscaping and garden maintenance. We were fortunate to be given a donation of hawthorn bushes from the Soroptimists to celebrate their 40th anniversary and the late Peter Mansell of Grange Lodge Hotel had generously gifted some native trees but unfortunately we couldn’t afford the manpower to plant them and that’s when Ravenscroft came to the rescue,’ said John Silvester, chairman of The Little Chapel Foundation.

‘Ravenscroft already does an incredible amount within the community and our request for help came just a few weeks after they had helped put the bunting up in Town so we were thrilled when they said they could support us as well.’

Bad weather meant the original date last month had to be rearranged but most of the original volunteers were available with the youngest being just five years old.

‘The Little Chapel is iconic and we all have a part to play in ensuring it is enjoyed by islanders and visitors for many years to come. The support from my Ravenscroft colleagues proves just how precious the Little Chapel is as I had enough volunteers within two minutes of asking. Ravenscroft as a business continues to grow and we have recently announced plans to expand into the Isle of Man but Guernsey will always be where we began and where we are headquartered. The community support we have had is why the company is what it is today and so we want to continue to give back as much as we can,’ said marketing and PR executive Katrina Bray.