Tuesday 14 February

is  a busy day for Easton based florists Sonny Richards and Clare Mobley.

As well as the annual rush for red roses and romantic bouquets, they are also

using their busiest time of the year to raise much needed funds for charity.

"We wanted

to give something back during our busy season" said Sonny Richards, who has

owned 1st Choice Florists with Clare on Stapleton Road for 16 years. "This has

been a difficult year for us in many ways. Not only have we been facing a recession

which is tough on small traders, but we have also had a lot of negative press

about Stapleton Road."

Sonny and

Clare came up with the idea for a Red Heart event which would tie in with

Valentine's Day, help raise money and spread a little love around Stapleton

Road.  They decided to organise a fund

raising raffle for the British Heart Foundation and the Jermaine Harvey Trust.

"I approached lots of businesses on Stapleton Road and St Marks Road to ask

them to donate raffle prizes and we had a great response" said Clare. "We are

selling raffle tickets from now until Valentine's Day and the money will be

donated to our two chosen charities."

The Jermaine

Harvey Trust is a cause close to Sonny's heart. Jermaine was Sonny's nephew who

died of a rare heart condition aged only 24. A special bursary has been set up

in his honour to help young people who can't afford to go on to higher

education. "Valentine's Day is special for us in a lot of ways and I wanted to

extend that to other shops in Easton" explained Sonny.

Raffle

tickets are on sale in shops on Stapleton Road and St Marks Road. The winners will be drawn on Wednesday 15 February

and Sonny and Clare plan to continue collecting donations throughout the month.