St Ann’s Hospice will recycle Christmas trees while at the same time raising money for people in Greater Manchester with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

JustHelping, a national charity founded in Prestbury, is organising Christmas tree collections throughout the region to raise money for charities in the area including St Ann’s Hospice.

A team of volunteers will be out in force to collect trees from January 10-12 along with a voluntary donation.

Last year, JustHelping collected 2,234 trees, all of which were shredded into chippings to be used locally in parks and sports clubs. The initiative raised £24,800 for St Ann’s Hospice.

This year the charity’s team of volunteers will be collecting trees in SK2, SK3, SK4, SK5, SK6, SK7, SK8 and M20 postcodes as well as parts of M21, M22, M33, WA14, WA15 and Swinton.

Clare Hinton, JustHelping’s Chief Executive, explained:  “We are hoping to be able to help even more people recycle their Christmas trees this year and boost the amount of money that we raise for charities like St Ann’s.

“We are always bowled over by the support the Christmas tree collection scheme receives from local residents and our amazing volunteers, who see it as the perfect opportunity to come together and give something back to the community when the festivities are over.

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive of St Ann’s, said:  “Thanks so much to the JustHelping team, their volunteers, and of course the people of Greater Manchester who register their Christmas tree for collection and make a donation to the hospice.

“It’s support like this that enables us to continue to make a real difference to the lives of our patients and their families and words really can’t express how much we appreciate it.”

For more details, or to book a tree collection, please visit www.charityxmastreecollection.com.