Thistles Market Garden is Shooting Star’s Charity of the Year
A market garden near Boston that supports people with a learning disability will be getting help from an award-winning PR and marketing agency this year.
Thistles Market Garden in Sutterton has been chosen by Shooting Star as its Charity of the Year for 2025.
Shooting Star will provide PR, marketing and digital support free of charge to Thistles and will also help to raise funds for the charity.
Thistles supports adults with a learning disability and currently provides purposeful activities in horticulture to 22 people from Boston, Spalding, Heckington and Holbeach.
“We’re over the moon to have been chosen and very grateful to the guys at Shooting Star for offering to help us this year,” said Thistles Manager Michael Burgess.
“We’ve made a lot of progress and grown the charity over the past two years, but we’re ambitious to do more, and we’re sure Shooting Star will be able to help us achieve our goals.
“We’re looking forward to putting together a marketing and fund-raising plan for this year, so watch this space!”
Kate Strawson, a Director of Shooting Star, said the whole team is looking forward to working with Thistles in the coming year.
“Throughout 2025 we will be supporting Thistles for free, helping them with their marketing, profile raising and social media as well as raising money for them at our next Chippy Quiz in November!
“Choosing between all the applicants is always a very difficult decision, but Thistles offers such an amazing service to people in the Boston area with a learning disability that we knew we’d love to support them.
“Not only that, but we’re a green fingered bunch and we love a bit of gardening, so in many ways it was a no-brainer!”
Thistles is the 18th charity Shooting Star has helped since its Charity of the Year initiative was launched in 2009. Past charities have included Headway Lincolnshire, Help Me, I’m Fine and Sophie’s Journey.
For a full list visit Shooting Star’s charity page.
Not only does Thistles support people with a learning disability, it also sells the fresh seasonal produce that the service users grow from seed. Find out more by visiting their website: www.thistlesmarketgarden.net.
If you would like to nominate a charity for 2026 send an email to hello@weareshootingstar.co.uk and ask for an application form.
Notes for editors:
About Shooting Star:
- Shooting Star was founded in 2006 by Kate Strawson and Jez Ashberry and became incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 2007.
- Based in Lincoln, Shooting Star works for local and national public and private sector clients across a wide range of sectors including education, leisure and tourism, property, retail, finance, manufacturing and construction.
- The agency offers a full range of PR, marketing and digital services.
- The agency has won a number of industry awards, including Best Charity Campaign at the UK Digital Excellence Awards 2023 and was a finalist in the Lincolnshire Business Excellence Awards 2023 and The Drum Awards for B2B 2022.
About Thistles Market Garden
- Thistles provides daily purposeful activities in horticulture for people in south Lincolnshire with a learning disability.
- The market garden occupies an acre of land eight miles south of Boston and was first established in 2002 by Lincolnshire County Council Social Services.
- It has operated as an independent charitable organisation since 2015.
- Manager Michael Burgess is supported by a team of staff and volunteers and a management committee.
- To find out more visit http://www.thistlesmarketgarden.net/
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