A CHILDREN’S Hospice in Radcliffe rounded up the troops at the weekend as they worked on raising awareness; this time through the medium of flowers.

Soon-to-be opened Grace’s Place, in Dumers Lane, will provide essential services for children who have life-shortening conditions and who do not currently have access to a children’s hospice.

The hospice, and its new service provider, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, mustered a ‘junior guerrilla army’ of children to spread an important message around the town.

In total, more than 50 little guerrillas aged between six months and 14-years-old – kitted out in face paint and purple gear, and armed with trowels – were provided with hundreds of packets of forget-me-not flower seeds, generously donated by Suttons Seeds.

The seeds were scattered in and around the grounds of Grace’s Place and opposite in Close Park.

Noor Ali, aged 35, who lives in Withington, attended the event with her two daughters Leila, aged three, and Ruby, aged one.

Noor said: “My two girls had a great time planting the forget-me-not seeds.

“As well as being a really fun morning, it’s so nice to be part of such a positive campaign to help raise awareness of the charity and the work that the children’s hospice does.

“It was lovely to meet some of the Forget Me Not staff and volunteers and hear about their plans for Grace’s Place.

“We can’t wait to come and visit in the spring to see our flowers in bloom.”

The guerrillas also took packets to plant at home and in their own neighbourhoods, with their parents sharing the gardening action on social media using the hashtag #ForgetMeNotMCR.

Once germinated, the forget-me-not seeds will blossom into a magical, fragrant surprise for local residents and businesses to enjoy.

As charity partner of the inaugural Northern Blog Awards, which was held that same night at The Principal, Manchester, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice also supplied a packet of seeds for each of the 200 attendees’ goody bags at the awards dinner.

Throughout September, the charity is aiming to give out 650 packets of seeds to individuals, businesses, schools and community groups to plant across Manchester – with each packet representing each of the children in the North Manchester area who is in need of children’s hospice services.

Kirsty Franks, a director at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, said: “The plan is to get loads of people planting forget-me-not flowers far and wide across Manchester, as well as share their involvement on social media using the hashtag #ForgetMeNotMCR.

“We want everyone to know about Grace’s Place and, if possible, find some way to support us, whether through fundraising or volunteering.

“Our aim is to plant 650 packets of forget-me-not seeds to represent each of the children in North Manchester who are in need of children’s hospice services.

“If any local individuals, schools, businesses or community groups can help us achieve our goal please get in touch.”

Supporters can follow the latest developments at Grace’s Place on Twitter by searching for @GracesPlaceFMN, on Facebook or by going to www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/gracesplace