A record number of trees collected – and money raised – in Weldmar’s annual Treecycle
9th January 2023
< BACK TO NEWSMore than 1,200 real Christmas trees have been collected across Dorset as part of Weldmar Hospicecare’s Treecycle fundraiser.
Now in it’s fifth year, this January’s project is the most successful yet, with £12,500 raised in donations.
The initiative is in partnership with Trinity Street Christmas Trees, who coordinate the collections and logistics, help to recruit volunteers, and arrange for the trees to be chipped and recycled.
Fiona Hansford is Weldmar’s Business Development Fundraiser, and says, “It’s really great news that we have raised more money than ever before with Treecycle, which goes directly towards the specialist care that we provide to adults in Dorset with a life limiting illness, and the support we give to their loved ones. We couldn’t do this without the support of the team at Trinity Street Christmas Trees and their partners. Thank you to everyone who made a booking to help us reach this total. We also couldn’t do this without a small army of volunteers, so a huge amount of appreciation goes to all those people who gave up their time to help drive vehicles and collect trees.”
Additional thanks goes to Knighton Countryside Management for chipping the trees free of charge, and to Dorset Vehicle Rentals for providing four trucks for the weekend without charge. Magna Housing and Pipefix Ltd sent volunteers and vehicles to be part of the collection crew, and Beaminster Motors for allowing us to use their premises for storage.
Tamzin Hyde from Trinity Street Christmas Trees said: “It’s a pleasure working with Weldmar on this scheme, they do such incredible work and many of our volunteers have had a loved one in the hospice and all say how amazing they are both to the patient themselves and the family. Having brought our donkeys in for visits, I have seen first hand the care with which the staff treat everyone – it’s a privilege to be a part of it all.
The tree chippings are going to be turned into biomass fuel, which is a renewable energy source.
Here’s the scene at Weldmar’s Inpatient Unit in Dorchester, where all the trees were chipped by Knighton Countryside Management:
Thank you!
