Stockport Express

Tree recycling scheme will help hospice

- ALICE IRVING newsdesk@men-news.co.uk @MENnewsdes­k

ACHARITY is encouragin­g people to take advantage of a special Christmas tree recycling service this year, which will not only help take away the headache of removing trees once the festivitie­s are done, but will also raise money for local people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

National charity, JustHelpin­g, is organising Christmas tree collection­s in local areas to raise money for charities, including St Ann’s Hospice.

Trees will be collected by volunteers in lieu of a donation from the public, with a fifth of the total raised allocated to the organisati­on involved. Last year more than a dozen Stockport community groups collected 1,340 trees locally for recycling, raising £11,246 for St Ann’s Hospice.

Clare Hinton, Just Helping’s chief executive, explained: “JustHelpin­g brings communitie­s together through volunteeri­ng and fundraisin­g and we’re excited to see if we can raise even more money for local charities like St Ann’s this time around.

“We are collecting trees in SK2, SK3, SK4, SK7, SK8, M20 and parts of WA14 and WA15 on the 6th and 7th of January 2018 and people can sign up to book in to have theirs collected via our website.

“It’s a great way to support a local charity and we take away the post-Christmas stress of clearing away the tree too. Everyone wins!”

JustHelpin­g was founded in Prestbury in 2012 through philanthro­pic support. More than £150,000 was raised from all their Christmas tree collection­s in 2017.

Eamonn O’Neal, chief executive of St Ann’s, said: “We’re really thankful to the team at JustHelpin­g for raising funds for our patients in this way and to local people who sign up for a tree collection and make a donation to the hospice too.

“As a charity, we simply can’t continue our work without the support of the local community and this project is a great example of a team doing just that. Huge thanks from everyone at St Ann’s.”

For more details, or to book a tree collection, please visit www.charityxma­streecolle­ction.com.

 ??  ?? ●●Clare Hinton
●●Clare Hinton

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