Local volunteers, businesses and supporters have helped to raise a tree-mendous £24,730 for Julia’s House children’s hospice by collecting an unbe-leaf-able 1,800 Christmas trees from local homes in the charity’s annual Xmas tree recycling scheme, kindly sponsored by Eco Sustainable Solutions and the Fencing Centre.
Hundreds of Wiltshire and Dorset households had their real Xmas trees collected and recycled from their doorstep by Julia’s House with a donation to help the charity continue to provide its specialist care and support for local seriously ill children and their families, giving them a chance to have the magical moments and memories every family deserves.
Braving sub-zero temperatures, the Julia’s House fundraising team, supported by volunteers from local businesses, collected Xmas trees from local postcodes BH1 through to BH23 and BH31. The trees were then taken to local partner sites, where they were recycled into chippings for use on nearby farms – an environmentally friendly end to the festive season.
In its fifth year, the annual Xmas tree collection helped to recycle 1,300 Christmas trees in Dorset and a further 550 trees in Wiltshire, raising a total of £24,730, helping the charity to continue to provide vital respite breaks for families who are often caring around the clock for their seriously ill child.
Katie Thompson, Community Fundraiser for Julia’s House, said, “The Xmas tree recycling has become a firm fixture in our fundraising calendar and we are absolutely thrilled it has raised so much in donations this year. We rely on public support to provide our care service in Dorset, so the generosity of the local community at this time of year is just amazing.
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone – people who booked to have their tree collected by Julia’s House and donated to us, our volunteers, local businesses and organisations who provided vans, chippers and helping hands and our sponsors, Eco Sustainable Solutions and The Fencing Centre. Everyone gave their time and services for free, helping to ensure that every tree donation went directly towards providing vital care and support for local families. Thank you to a great team!”
Julia’s House is Dorset’s local children’s hospice. The charity’s amazing nurses and carers bring clinical care, fun, laughter and compassion to the children they support, giving exhausted parents a much-needed respite break from around the clock care, with the peace of mind their child is in safe hands. The charity relies almost entirely on donations from the local community to fund its care for the county’s most seriously ill children and their families – in the Julia’s House hospice in Corfe Mullen and in families’ homes. Just eight per cent of the charity’s costs are covered by ongoing government support – the rest is kindly donated by supporters.
Find out how you can support local families by fundraising, volunteering and working for Julia’s House children’s hospice at www.juliashouse.org