EAST CHESHIRE HOSPICE 2010 CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION
History of the Collection
How did it start ?
In 1999 Prestbury Church was trying to raise money to replace the failing organ used to accompany the activities of its two choirs. Mike Thompson, a member of the Men and Boys Choir, suggested that £10 be given to each choir member to be returned hopefully with interest (as with The Parable of the Talents).
Nobody realised how the Chapman family’s £10 idea of collecting and disposing of dead Christmas Trees would grow. With their trailer they organised a collection in the Prestbury area and divided the proceeds equally between a Children's Charity and the Organ fund. It was a great success and the following year several friends and neighbours asked if they were going to do it again. So the Collection was born and started to grow.
Since 2001 the East Cheshire Hospice has been the sole beneficiary and the collection has donated to it over £159,000. This is our 10th year collecting on behalf of the Hospice. Since the commencement of the collection its success has been dependant upon the ongoing goodwill of our growing team of Sponsors and Helpers.
So what does it all mean and how big is it?
The Christmas Tree Collection Service capitalises on the fact that a lot of people enjoy buying a natural tree neatly wrapped in netting but they loathe its disposal with the oozing sap and dropping needles.
The thought of all that mess in the car or cutting and bagging up with the associated trip to the tip are not the part of Christmas that people enjoy. They are therefore only too grateful to donate a modest sum and allow someone else to do the dirty work for them! Add the environmental recycling element and a champion charitable cause of the East Cheshire Hospice and you have a Great Idea!
So how does it work?
Before Christmas a publicity campaign is mounted with posters, leaflets and articles in selected publications such as local Church magazines.
Blanket publicity is not necessarily helpful because we need to retain control, as far as possible, of the areas from which we collect. These are Prestbury, Tytherington, Macclesfield, Poynton, Chelford, Mottram, Adlington, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Disley and surrounding areas.
Then comes the leaflet drop. After Christmas selected areas are targeted for leaflet dropping. Families go out to work off the Christmas excesses; volunteers do their local neighbourhoods (could you help?); the men try to justify a pint or two in the pub by firstly striding around a few more areas! The home contact numbers start to ring just after Christmas and the e-mails begin to arrive as well. Hospice volunteers contact those from whom we have previously collected (nearly 1,500 phone calls!)
Just before the great Collection weekend the computer is frantic as bookings are listed, rounds are organised and lorries are confirmed. An army of volunteers (150+) are press-ganged into action (!!) and the other huge numbers of arrangements are made. Over 2,000 man (and woman!!) hours of effort are generously given.
Then to the weekend itself...
In 2009 we organised forty six rounds for thirty vehicles. We made over 4,300 individual collections, from over 1,450 different roads and recycled over 47 tonnes of trees.
We had volunteer drivers, navigators, helpers, supporters, chefs, coffee-makers and biscuit-bakers. Meals were on the hoof, chocolate ‘goodie’ snack bags turned up in each vehicle, our chefs provided lunch which was devoured as though people hadn't eaten in weeks! Chips and beer in the pub in the evenings rounded off a day of healthy eating!
Did we have fun? Most certainly! Who managed to lose a tree from the back of a pick-up? Who got the biggest tree? Who went the furthest for a tree? Who left a tree behind (but still took the money!)? How many of us were paid by people still in their nightwear – what time do you get up on a Sunday?!
And the highlights?
The commitment and camaraderie of a marvelous team of helpers of all ages. The generosity of spirit of those from whom we collected – your grateful comments sustained us and your wonderful contributions to the cause will help the Hospice considerably. However, the beer and hot bath at the end of each day was oh so welcome!
What do we do with the trees?
We are very grateful to Cheshire East Council for supplying a shredding machine and operator to mulch the trees.
We could not have achieved this target without great help from our sponsors.
So that is our story. Your part in it is to support us in our efforts to grow the Collection into an even larger operation and so raise greater sums of money for the East Cheshire Hospice!!
Our ambition is for others to take up this idea and start collections in other areas (we could help you get started). We are delighted that this has started to happen - see our "Other Collections" Page.