A CHARITY Christmas tree collection service has been expanded to more areas of Warwickshire.
The annual collection of real Christmas trees is organised by Pass The Smile with The Myton Hospices.
In return for a donation, the scheme’s volunteers will collect and repurpose residents’ real trees. And the 2023 collection will take place over the weekend of January 13 to January 15 .
Launched in 2020, the project has now raised over £54,000 in funds, which help both local charities to pursue their work and support communities.
The 2022 collection alone raised £34,000, collecting 2,500 trees with the help of 125 volunteers and sponsors including Diamond Logistics, KB Transport Solutions, Coventry Building Society, Mirius, Armstrongs Accountants, Tudor Environmental, and Fox Gardening Services.
This year organisers are aiming even higher with a plan to collect 4,000 trees, extending the collection area into Stratford and Rugby, as well as Bedworth and Nuneaton.
Scott Crowther, Pass The Smile’s Co-organiser, was staggered by the success in 2022.
He said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the ongoing support of our volunteers, the sponsors and everyone who registered a tree for collection. Every year we think that we’ve reached a peak but the help we get enables us to go even further, it’s incredibly humbling.”
Charlotte Ingram, Director of Income Generation at The Myton Hospices, added: “We are delighted to be working with Pass The Smile and Just Helping again this year to organise the Charity Christmas Tree Collection. The growth of the collection each year has been fantastic and we are looking forward to collecting and recycling even more trees this year. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who makes the collections possible and to all those who support by making a donation.”
Once collected. trees are transported to Russells Garden Centre in Baginton, where they will be shredded and used to restock paths in their Quarry Gardens and maze. This year organisers are also aiming to send a quantity of trees to aid production of biomass for fuel.
To book a tree collection visit www.just-helping.org.uk/register-tree
