MORE than £61,000 has been raised for a hospice by a record-breaking campaign which saw thousands of Christmas trees collected and recycled across Worcestershire.
Over two weekends in January, 197 people volunteering for the St Richard’s Hospice Christmas Tree Campaign collected and recycled 2,731 real trees from properties across the county.
The campaign raised £61,890 for St Richard’s – the most it has raised for the hospice in the nine years the campaign has been running.
Ria Simons, who is the hospice’s Corporate Fundraising Lead and who manages the campaign, said: “We are truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our community this year.
“Thank you to everyone who donated, and thank you to the amazing people who collected and recycled trees in challenging weather – including freezing temperatures!
“This year, it will cost in the region of £12 million to run the hospice – and the majority of these funds are raised by voluntary donations, gifts in Wills, retail, events, and campaigns like this one.
“We cannot stress enough how grateful we are to everyone who has played a part in this year’s tree collection. Thank you for helping us continue to be there for patients and those important to them.”
The campaign was supported by Aptean, which creates route maps to guide volunteers during tree collections, St Peters Garden Centre, and Leigh Sinton Christmas Trees.
Volunteers from a variety of businesses and organisations also supported the campaign. This included volunteers from: ACW Trees, AJM Carpentry, Angloco Ltd, ArrangeMy, Baxter Williams, Bradfords Evesham, Churchfields, CMCA UK, CMR Cars, Compco Fire Systems, Corla Media, Cotswold Drainage, County Building Supplies (Droitwich), Denley Tree Surgery, Dolphin Tech, Double-O&KS Ltd, Enterprise, FIS Global, Floral Roundabout, GJS Dillon, Greenwood Planning, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, Hay Fisher, Henson Plant Hire, Instant Scenery, Jackson Funeral Directors, Karndean, Kelly Plant Hire, The King’s School, Leonard Curtis, Lovington Logs, Malvern Hills District Council, Marsh Commercial, MB Tree Care, Mid-West Landscaping, Montel Engineering, Nationwide, Office Solutions, Olpro Ltd, Open GI, Pace Printers, Parallel Lines PR, Pearwood Property Services, Pershore College, Platform Housing, Rock Power, Rock Solid Consulting, Sanctuary, Shrubbery Dental, Stockton Business Consulting, Tesco team St Peters, Tewkesbury Van Sales, Three Pears Tree Care, Walsh Construction, Warren’s Removals, West Mercia Police Cadets, White Logistics, Worcester City Council, Worcester Handyman, and Wychavon District Council.
A number of hospice supporters also volunteered alongside businesses to assist with collecting and recycling trees.
Collections took place on Friday, January 10, Saturday, January 11, Sunday, January 19 and Monday, January 20.