Tree appeal will help to feed families
MONEY RAISED WILL GO TO FOODBANKS
A FUNERAL firm has promised to help put food on the table of local families once again by raising money for two local foodbanks through its memorial Christmas tree charity appeal.
Gillotts Funeral Directors, of Heanor, will again be inviting relatives of loved ones who have died during the year to leave messages of remembrance on Christmas trees at its office in Abbott Street.
The company has held the appeal every year since 2005 but was forced to change its plans last year by erecting a large Christmas tree in the grounds of St Lawrence’s Church, in Church Street, because of Covid restrictions.
The easing of lockdown this time round means that Gillotts will return to erecting a tree at its premises again and officially launched its appeal on Saturday to coincide with Heanor’s town Christmas light switch-on.
Gillotts operates five offices – in Heanor, Eastwood, Kimberley, Selston and Stapleford – and each one will have its own real tree this year, all of which have been sourced from local grower Otto Bock’s Christmas tree plantation in Smalley.
For each message left on the branches of its trees, Gillotts donates £1 to a charity fund, which this year will be split between five local foodbanks, including Salcare, in Ray Street, and the St Andrew’s Food
Bank, at St Andrew’s Church in Langley Mill.
Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts Funeral Directors, said: “We had a wonderful response to our appeal last year, despite the restrictions, and are hugely grateful to have been able to work in partnership with St Lawrence Church and Heanor and Loscoe Town Council to ensure our families had somewhere to leave their messages. “We’re delighted to be returning to having a tree at our office again this year. “We’re also pleased to announce that we will once again be donating the proceeds to our local food banks, which do so much good work to support families who are struggling to make ends meet.”
For more information visit www. gillotts.co.uk
We had a wonderful response to our appeal last year, despite the restrictions.
Anthony Topley