Hospice's Christmas tree collection raises £36,000

A hospice that provides thousands of families with palliative care has raised £36,532 in Gloucestershire by collecting Christmas trees.

Sue Ryder's Leckhampton Court Hospice in Cheltenham collected 1,579 trees from around the county after Christmas in return for donations, staff said.

The charity's other schemes around the country raised a combined £166,777 towards supporting people with palliative care.

It means Sue Ryder hospices around the country would be able to provide people with 6,671 hours of care in total, staff said.

The trees collected by the Gloucestershire scheme are due to be used to generate energy, or turned to chippings to create a bluebell walk on the hospice's grounds, staff said.

Alysia Cameron-Price, community fundraising manager at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, said: "As Sue Ryder continues to face rising costs to deliver its care, and with the increasing number of people in need of our support, your contributions are more crucial than ever.

"Around 100 volunteers offered their time to support the collections, making this incredible fundraising achievement possible."

The hospice collects old Christmas trees every year, always receiving thousands of pounds from members of the public.

Along with palliative care, the charity offers bereavement support through its online community forum and free bereavement counselling service.

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