£10k raised for Colchester hospice
It was raised by the crematorium
St Helena Hospice has received a £10,000 donation, thanks to Colchester Crematorium’s participation in a national recycling scheme.
Each year the Institute of Crematorium and Cemetery Management (ICCM) scheme, which Colchester Crematorium joined in 2018, asks members to nominate a charity to receive a share of the cash from the combined sale of metals recovered by crematoriums nationwide.
This is the second occasion Colchester crematorium has nominated St Helena Hospice for a donation. In 2019, they were presented with a cheque for £7,000.
Under the ICCM scheme hard metals which remain after cremation – such as coffin staples and nails, and medical implants – are recycled with the consent of the family of the deceased.
Cllr Beverley Oxford, Portfolio Holder for Communities, presented the £10,000 cheque to Sarah Phillips, Supporter Engagement Fundraiser at St Helena Hospice, in a ceremony last Wednesday (1 September), flanked by members of the council’s Bereavement Services Team.
Cllr Oxford said:
“I am delighted and extremely grateful to ICCM for supporting our nomination and once again awarding St Helena Hospice such a generous sum from its metal recycling scheme.
“I’m certain all the bereaved families who helped make this donation possible will welcome it being used to support the hospice, which does such wonderful work to care for people in the final stages of life and their families.
“I’m so very proud of the work our bereavement service provides all year round and the substantial amount of money it has helped to raise for St Helena Hospice since joining the recycling scheme.
“It can be comforting for families to know, during what is an unbearably difficult time, that the passing of a loved one can contribute to such an important and enduring legacy – both for the charities that benefit financially from the scheme but also by helping to recycle and conserve scarce natural resources.”
Sarah Phillips said:
“We are incredibly grateful to receive such a generous donation. We rely heavily on our local community for two-thirds of our funding, so receiving such a substantial amount as this is vital to ensure we continue caring for local people facing incurable illness and bereavement. We would like to say a huge thank you to Colchester Borough Council and all the members of the scheme who voted for St Helena Hospice.”
ICCM’s recycled metals scheme, which launched in 2006 in partnership with Dutch company Orthometals, has raised more than £7m for charities up and down the country since it launched.