Much-loved local charity East Cheshire Hospice is once again holding its annual Christmas tree collection, which aims to raise funds to support its vital work, and local MP, David Rutley, alongside fellow East Cheshire MPs Fiona Bruce and Esther McVey, is encouraging yet more local residents to get involved with this positive initiative.
Local residents register online to have their Christmas tree collected by East Cheshire Hospice, at the same time as making a donation of their choice, providing vital support towards covering the Hospice's operating costs. Then, on the weekend of 12-13 January, some 300 local volunteers in around 40 vehicles will cover an astonishing 2,100 roads around Macclesfield, Congleton, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Poynton, Prestbury and Alderley Edge, collecting the pre-registered Christmas trees, and taking them to local recycling facilities for environmentally-friendly disposal.
Now in its 19th year, the Christmas tree collection has so far raised over £900,000 towards the Hospice's vital work caring for terminally-ill patients in Cheshire East with compassion and dedication, with a record £114,000 raised in the 2018 collection. As well as this, the Christmas tree collection makes a positive difference to the environment, as the Hospice works closely with Cheshire East Council to ensure that trees are ground into mulch before being mixed into compost for recycling back into the soil. Last year, the Christmas tree collection saved over 7,000 trees from being sent to landfill, instead enabling them to be recycled into biomass fuel.
So far, around 700 local residents have registered to take part in the Christmas tree collection. The Hospice is aiming to collect over 7,000 trees, and to reaching the target of over £1 million donations since the collection was launched. Local residents still have time to register their trees for collection ahead of the deadline on Wednesday 9th January, and can do so through the Hospice's website: https://www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/echtrees. Alternatively, local residents who cannot pay online can still register their tree for collection and leave a donation for the Hospice with the tree on the day of collection.
Any local residents who would like to volunteer with the Christmas tree collection can contact East Cheshire Hospice by email at: echtrees@echospice.org.uk. The Hospice also welcomes further sponsorship of the event, and any local businesses that would like to get involved in supporting this positive initiative can also contact East Cheshire Hospice at the email address above.
David, who is a Vice-President of East Cheshire Hospice, said, "I am pleased to once again add my support, along with other local MPs, to this important and popular initiative, which has rightly become a fixture in the local calendar. The collection raises vital funds for the Hospice's much-needed work in caring for local residents. I hope many more local residents will register and make a generous donation, helping the Hospice to continue its vital work."