Christmas Tree-cycle service raises £10,000 for hospice

More than 1,500 trees were recycled, enabling the hospice to generate more than £10,000, making it the most successful campaign to date.

“The amount of money raised this year is just phenomenal,” said Laura Stones, event fundraiser for St Barnabas Hospice. “The support from our local community has been second to none.

“This is the third year we have run this service, and demand has multplied by seven. This year, the Tree-cycle doubled in size, and we also opened it up to cover the south of Lincolnshire. It received an amazing response from the community.”

The Christmas trees were collected between Saturday, January 6 and Wednesday, January 10 from across the county, with the help of several volunteers, including many businesses and community groups.

“We couldn’t have achieved any of this without the wonderful local businesses who have lent their time, equipment and expertise to the campaign,” added Laura.

“We must also thank our volunteer leaflet-droppers, who delivered an incredible 60,000 leaflets. Their support is hugely valuable to us.”

The hospice is an independent charity that supports more than 9,000 people across Lincolnshire every year, providing free, high-quality and compassionate care and support to adults with a life-limiting or terminal illness, their family and carers.

It employs about 300 staff and has more than 1,100 volunteers, but it needs to raise more than £5.5 million every year to survive.

Amelia Mochan, another event fundraiser for St Barnabas, said: “The money raised from this Tree-cycle service will help the hospice to continue caring for adults and their families.

“We will be running the service again next year and hope to raise even more money to support our care and expand our reach across the county.”

The businesses and groups across the county who volunteered their help to collect the trees included: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Washingborough Scouts Group, Aswarby Estate Sawmill, DGM Grounds and Forest, Bythamtrees, Simpson Arboriculture, KWR Plant Hire, Continental Landscapes, Taylor Tree Services, Lincolnshire Ec-Arborists, T.J.S. Tre Services and Robinson Building Services.