A £15,000 donation has been made to a local charity that offers bereavement support to children and young people thanks to a recycling scheme at Bath’s Haycombe Crematorium.
Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium | Photo © ColinPeachey / Shutterstock.com
Josephine’s Star provides one-to-one support sessions with trained volunteers to children and young people who’ve suffered a significant bereavement.
The charity also provides Grief First Aid training to schools across the area, equipping staff with the skills to manage and support a child or young person.
It is the latest charity to benefit from money raised by the recycling of common items like medical pins, metal plates and artificial joints which are retrieved from the cremated remains of a loved one and recycled through a national scheme.
Leif Tarry, founder of Josephine’s Star said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to the council for this donation which will go a long way in providing bereavement support to children and young people across Somerset.
“Our trained volunteers help those referred to us develop strategies to cope with their grief through play and activities.
“The money we’ve received will enable us to support more children by recruiting and training more volunteers and providing them with resources to support young people as they come to terms with their loss.”
Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture added: “This is our largest donation from the recycling of metals from the crematorium to date and I’m delighted we have been able to support Josephine’s Star.
“Losing a loved one at a young age can be an incredibly traumatic experience and have a long-lasting impact on mental wellbeing.
“The professional individually tailored support provided by the volunteers from Josephine’s Star can make a huge difference to those who are struggling having lost someone special.”
The not-for-profit Recycling of Metals Scheme is run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management of which Bath & North East Somerset Council is a member.
Members of the scheme collect the metal from the cremators and the money raised from recycling is divided between ICCM members for distribution among charities.
Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services said: “We always respectfully retrieve the cremated remains of a loved one and recover metal items used as part of surgery from the cremator with the consent of the family.
“The most responsible way to dispose of them is to recycle them. We feel it’s only right the money raised goes to support bereavement charities and I hope people who are bereaved take comfort from that.”
To qualify for donations from the scheme, charities are selected on the basis they have to assist the bereaved or those who are terminally ill.
Local charities, which meet the criteria can get in touch with staff at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium on 01225 396020 or email [email protected].
