MORE than £50,000 has been raised for a city-based hospice this month through its ‘best ever’ Christmas tree recycling campaign.
The annual St Richard’s Hospice Christmas Tree Collection saw more than 185 volunteers split into 84 teams to collect and recycle more than 2,560 trees from 15 postcode areas in Worcestershire.
The campaign total of £50,183, after costs, is the highest since the hospice began running the scheme eight years ago.
Ria Simons, Corporate Fundraising Lead at St Richard’s, said: “This campaign has gone from strength to strength and I’m blown away to see this year’s record-breaking fundraising total.
“Every penny raised will help us continue to fund our free care for patients living with serious, progressive illnesses, their loved ones and bereaved people right here in Worcestershire.
“Without our brilliant team of volunteers, and mapping company Aptean, the immense task of collecting thousands of trees from addresses across the county would simply not be possible.
“We are so, so grateful to everyone who donated and supported this campaign, making it such a success for our patients and loved ones.”
Tree collections took place on Sunday, January 7 and Monday, January 8. Extra collections were also scheduled for Thursday, January 11 and Friday, January 12.
Volunteers collected trees from homes and businesses in the WR1, WR2, WR3, WR4, WR5, WR6, WR7, WR8, WR9, WR10, WR11, WR12, WR13, WR14 and WR15 postcode areas.
The campaign was supported by Aptean, which created route maps to guide the volunteers during tree collections, and St Peters Garden Centre.
Also supporting the campaign were volunteers from a variety of organisations including: ACW Trees, AJM Carpentry, Angloco Ltd, ArrangeMy, Ball Mill Logs, Baxter Williams, Blackpole Recycling, Bradfords Evesham, Churchfields Farm, Clive’s Fruit Farm, CMCA UK, Corla Media, Cotswold Drainage, County Building Supplies (Droitwich) Limited, Denley Tree Surgery, Dolphin Tec, Double-O&KS Ltd, Hay Fisher, Henson Plant Hire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, Instant Scenery, Jackson Family Funeral Directors, Jonathan Cook Forestry Services Limited, Karndean, Kelly Plant Hire, The King’s School Worcester, Leigh Sinton Farm, Malvern Hills District Council, Malvern Panalytical, Marsh Commercial, MB Tree Care, Montel Engineering, Morris Valeting, Nationwide, Office Solutions, Open GI, Pace Print and Design, Parallel Lines, Pearwood Property Services, Pershore College, Platform Housing, Rock Power, Sanctuary, Shrubbery Dental Practice, Squab Removal, Stockton Business Consulting, Tesco St Peter’s, Tewkesbury Van Sales, Three Pears Tree Care, Walsh Construction, Warren’s Removals, White Logistics, Worcester City Council, Worcester Handyman, and Wychavon District Council.
A number of hospice supporters volunteered alongside businesses to assist with collecting and recycling trees.