A CHRISTMAS tree recycling campaign across south Worcestershire has been hailed a great success after raising £50,183 for St Richard’s Hospice.
The charity said the collections, which took place on January 7 and 8, along with extra ones on January 11 and 12, made it the ‘best ever’ campaign. The drive was started eight years ago and, the charity added, this year’s raised more than any other.
More than 185 volunteers split into 84 teams to collect and recycle more than 2,560 trees from 15 postcodes across Worcestershire.
The WR1 to WR15 areas saw trees collected from Worcester City and the surrounding areas, along with Droitwich, Malvern, Evesham, Pershore, Broadway and Tenbury Wells.
Ria Simons, St Richard#s corporate fundraising lead, 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.”
‘Campaign had massive support from many organisations’
The campaign was supported by Aptean, which created route maps to guide the volunteers during tree collections, and St Peters Garden Centre.
Volunteers from a number of other organisations also took part.
These included 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 and Henson Plant Hire.
As well as those, there was 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 and Nationwide,
And there was voluntary assistance from 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.
St Richard’s Hospice, which treats more than 3,100 patients across Worcestershire, relies on donations and gifts in wills for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
Visit strichards.org.uk for more on the charity.
