Volunteers in Lichfield and Burntwood are being asked to support a green fundraising scheme in aid of a local charity.

Ian, Julie and Riley Deaves taking part in the TreeCycle fundraiser
Ian, Julie and Riley Deaves taking part in the TreeCycle fundraiser

St Giles Hospice’s annual TreeCycle campaign will launch again in January.

Lichfield Tree Works and Greener Composting in Wall will be recycling the trees for agricultural uses in exchange for a donation to the hospice. 

Last year saw volunteers collect more than 4,400 real trees, raising £65,000 for the Whittington-based charity.

Chloe Herbert, head of fundraising at St Giles Hospice, said:

“TreeCycle is a brilliant fundraising campaign which supports our work at the hospice and makes a real difference to the environment too, so we’re delighted to be running it again this year.

“We received an amazing response from our supporters and volunteers last January, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and we’re hoping that this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever.

“We’re also looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join our TreeCycle team – so if you want to banish your winter blues by taking part in something truly worthwhile then we’d love to hear from you.

“St Giles would also really like to thank Lichfield Tree Works, Greener Composting and Wincanton – without their support this campaign would just not be possible.”

Chloe Herbert, St Giles Hospice

Julie Deaves and her husband Ian are regular volunteers at St Giles and have taken part in the last two TreeCycle collections with their 12-year-old son Riley.

She said:

“It was really nice to do something worthwhile together as a family.

“St Giles is a great cause and it was really good to be able to help out. Riley really enjoyed it too – he said that when he’s a teenager he’s going to volunteer and get all his mates to join in.

“Volunteering for TreeCycle is our way of giving something back to the local community and we’d encourage anyone who is thinking of taking part to get involved.

“Signing up as a volunteer for TreeCycle is also a great way to be able to contribute to a good cause by giving up your time.

“Not only is it very rewarding, it’s also a great workout too and a good way to start getting back in shape after Christmas.

“TreeCycle is a great event which really helps the charity and the difference it makes is beyond words – especially when the charity is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic when shops had to close and events were cancelled.”

Julie Deaves

TreeCycle will be collecting trees from Wednesday 5th until Wednesday 12th January 2022. The suggested donation for trees up to 8ft is £10 and the donation for trees up to 10ft is £12. For trees over 10ft, call 01543 432538.

Collections must be booked by 5pm on 5th January 2022 and trees should be left out overnight on 4th January as collections will start early the following morning.

To find out more about volunteering for TreeCycle, email [email protected] or call 01543 432538. For more information or to book a collection visit www.stgileshospice.com/treecycle.