Thanks to Dorothy House’s biggest ever annual Christmas Tree Collection fundraiser in partnership with the Justhelping charity, over £40,000 has been raised to fund hospice care.
Wessex Water volunteers Matthew Coles and Simon Phillips | Photo courtesy of Dorothy House
Local people booked their used Christmas trees in for a charitable donation and Dorothy House supporters and volunteers picked up over 3,500 trees between 10th-12th January 2020.
The collection ran in thirteen local postcodes including four new ones – BA3, BA4, SN14 and SN15.
In January 2019, the Hospice’s Christmas Tree Collection raised £26,000 so Dorothy House is delighted to raise over £40,000 this year before Gift Aid is added.
The Hospice has to raise £5 for every £1 it receives from the NHS to fund its palliative and end of life care for local people living with a life-limiting illness, their families and carers.
Dorothy House’s Christmas Tree Collection scheme is supported by many local businesses providing volunteers and vehicles including Wessex Water in Bath, Rygor in Westbury, Bath ASU in Corsham, Brett Hardy Landscapes, Go Self Drive, Islington Motors, Corsham patio and fencing, Autoguide and Geoghegan Builders.
Students from Lackham Agriculture College will be helping with tree chipping and Greenhill Tree Care also helped chip trees from the Bradford on Avon area to be used in the Hospice grounds.
Other supporters include paving company, Shaun May and White Horse Disposal in Westbury, SureSet in Warminster, Pearns Tree Services and Inspired Joinery both from Frome and the Bradford on Avon Rotary Club.
While 90% of the money raised, after costs, will go to Dorothy House, 10% of funds raised will go to other local charities.
Jennifer Staton, community engagement coordinator at Wessex Water said: “Dorothy House is a local cause that means a great deal to our staff and we were so pleased to be able to support their Christmas tree collection again with our seven vehicles and twenty-one volunteers.
“I’d like to thank everyone who volunteered from Wessex Water – they were all fantastic and collected the trees in record time!”
Steph Cox, Community Fundraiser for Dorothy House Hospice Care added: “This is our fourth Christmas tree collection and we are thrilled to have raised £40k in vital funds to support local hospice care and to have collected a staggering 3,500 trees in total including 1,100 trees in Bath alone.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers and supporters for their generous help and to Bath and North East Somerset Council for their support in letting us use their recycling centre.”
Councillor Sarah Warren, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council said: “We’re so pleased to have supported the Dorothy House Christmas Tree Collection again this year by making our Bath recycling centre available and providing staff to run the centre during the collection weekend.
“It’s wonderful the collection raised so much money this year and that all the chipped trees from Bath will be turned into compost for local farmers.
“We wish the Hospice good luck for the year ahead and look forward to supporting them again next January.”
Dorothy House plans to expand the Christmas Tree Collection into more postcodes in January 2021 and information will be available from late November at www.dorothyhouse.org.uk.
