Nominated by: The team at Lady Garden Foundation
A WOMAN who took the “unimaginable loss of her daughter and transformed it into something extraordinary” has been nominated for Volunteer/Fundraiser of the Year.
Penny Plane, nominated by the team at the Lady Garden Foundation, lost her daughter, Emily, to ovarian cancer in 2023 when she 28 years old. Ms Plane turned her family’s heartbreak into “a powerful force for change”, the nominators said.
Inspired by an idea shared by her daughter, Ms Plane brought the charity’s “most ambitious” project to life – the Silent No More garden, showcased at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which raised over £500,000 for the charity.
Hero Murphy, awareness and advocacy executive, said: “I don’t think I’ve ever been so struck by someone’s sincerity and humour at the same time; even in situations where I don’t think anyone would have blamed her for falling apart.”
Ms Plane also set up the Emily Plane Fund, raising awareness of gynecological cancers and earlier diagnoses.
Co-founder and chief executive Jenny Halpern said: “Penny would say she is only doing what any mother would do.
“She isn’t. She is doing what very few people could.”
