Tree-rific Wiltshire businesses and volunteers help raise funds for local seriously ill children

More than £9,000 for Julia’s House children’s hospice has been raised by collecting Christmas trees following the festive season.

Volunteers, local businesses and supporters have all worked together to raise more than £9,000 for Julia’s House children’s hospice by collecting around 650 Christmas trees following the festive season.

For the first time Julia’s House has taken part in the national Just Helping scheme where people can choose to have their real Christmas tree collected and recycled by a local charity, with the option to make a donation.

Claudia Hickin, Community Fundraiser for Julia’s House, said: “We’re delighted with the response we’ve had to our first Christmas tree collection. From our hardworking team of volunteers, to the local people who chose to make a donation in return for collecting their tree – we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part. It wasn’t always easy finding the addresses on our list, but we managed it with some great support and we’re thrilled to have raised so much to help provide our vital care for local families.”

The charity's volunteers took to the streets of Pewsey, Devizes and Marlborough in Wiltshire to make their collections. The team were also supported by volunteers and vans from local businesses, Awdry Bailey & Douglas Solicitors, and Gaiger Bros building contractors and property developers.

Once collected, the trees were then chipped for free at The Old Potato Yard with the help of Will Corke from Green Farm Tree Care.

The charity collected 213 Christmas trees in Wiltshire and a further 434 trees in Dorset, raising around £9,250 in total. That equates to approximately 15,000kg of recycled wood chippings to be used by local farmers and community groups.

Across the UK, the Just Helping scheme has raised more than £970,000 for local hospices and other charities, with around 61,500 Christmas trees collected.

The charity says thanks almost entirely to donations from the local community, Julia's House can work to provide a lifeline of care for Wiltshire’s most seriously ill children and their families, in their Devizes hospice and in families’ homes.

Julia's House recently launched its Together We Care Appeal in Wiltshire, with the aim of raising the £1.5m needed each year to provide its essential and free care for local families across the county.

More information on how individuals can support local families by fundraising, volunteering and working for Julia’s House children’s hospice can be found at www.juliashouse.org