Chichester hospice ‘TreeCycle’ scheme returns for another year

Do you have a real Christmas Tree this year? St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Chichester are now taking bookings for their Christmas ‘TreeCycle’ scheme taking place from January 12th-5th 2024.

The recycling scheme allows local residents across West Sussex to book in their real Christmas Tree for collection, and have it taken away from their front doorstep by the jolly hospice volunteer elves in return for a suggested donation of £15 per tree, which will help fund vital end-of-life care in the local community. No more worrying about cutting up your tree, fitting it in the car, driving it to the tip, and getting covered in pine needles!

The recycling scheme raised over £15,000 last January, which could help fund a whole month of care from the Hospice Family Services Team, who provide grief and bereavement support services for patients and their loved ones.

Gemma Carden, Events and Community Manager at St Wilfrid’s said “It’s fantastic that we can provide such a sustainable initiative that benefits not only our local residents, but our expert care services too. We couldn’t run our services without the generosity of the local community, and our volunteers who kindly donate their time to help us run the scheme”.

St Wilfrid’s TreeCycle 2024 is kindly sponsored by Earth Cycle. The collected Christmas Trees will be taken to their green waste site in Oving for composting to benefit local farmland.

The scheme is running in the following postcodes and bookings close on Monday 8th January 2024: PO10, PO18, PO19, PO20, PO21, PO22, GU28, GU29 and BN18. You can book through their website stwh.co.uk/christmas-trees, or get in touch with the fundraising team on [email protected].

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St Wilfrid’s Hospice is much more than a building. They provide tailored end of life care both in the community and at the Hospice, supporting patients living with a terminal illness, and their family and friends.

Their vital services are all provided free of charge, thanks to the generous support of fundraisers and donors. Only a small percentage of the costs are currently met by the NHS and they rely on the community to fund the remainder, which totals over £9million each year. You can find out more information at www.stwh.co.uk or by calling 01243 775302.