East Cheshire Hospice set to raise £150k through tree collection

Volunteers have helped raise thousands of pounds for a hospice by collecting more than 7,000 Christmas trees.

East Cheshire Hospice said the collection, where people pay a donation to get their tree recycled, was set to raise more than £150,000.

Events manager Beth Candy said more than 300 volunteers helped over the weekend to make it a "massive success".

The annual collection has raised more than £1m since it was started by two volunteers 20 years ago.

Ms Candy said Richard Raymond and Peter Chapman begun the fundraising project in 2001.

"It's been absolutely amazing and is such a massive fundraising event for the hospice every year. It's such a big weekend and involves over 300 volunteers," she said.

The hospice in Millbank Drive, Macclesfield, serves areas including Congleton, Knutsford and High Legh, and says its running costs were about £7,500 a day. A total of 17% comes from the government and the rest is from donations.

About 40 vans were used to collect the trees, which are converted into mulch for burners and other uses.

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