Recycle your Christmas tree to help hospice appeal

Last year the hospice raised more than £15,000 for its care services by collecting a record-breaking 2,000 trees from homes and businesses.

Now the charity, which has hospices in Walsall, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield, is hoping even more people will register to have their Christmas trees collected.

It is calling for kind-hearted volunteers to work off their Christmas dinner by signing up to help with pick-ups.

St Giles Hospice events manager, Chloe Herbert, said: “Treecycle is a fantastic, popular fundraising event which helps people to get rid of their real trees easily and raises money to support our vital work.

"It’s so simple, you can book a place online and we can take away a tree of any size – it just has to be a real one.

“You don’t have to be in when we call round and you don’t have to cut up your tree. Just leave it outside your home and we’ll do the rest.

"Our volunteers are vital to making this event a success so if you fancy starting the new year with a good deed then give us a call on 01543 756398 or email volunteer@stgileshospice.com.

This will be the fifth year that Treecycle has been organised by St Giles which supports people with a potentially incurable illness and their families. In January 2019, hospice volunteers collected 2,143 trees from 1,828 locations, raising more than £15,000.

You can book a collection online before 2pm on Tuesday, January 7 by visiting the St Giles Hospice website.

Volunteers will collect trees from homes and workplaces in Lichfield, Burton, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Walsall, Rugeley and surrounding areas between Monday, January 6 and Saturday, January 11.