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Christmas tree recycling raises £35,000 for hospice

Nicola HaselerMilton Keynes
News imageNicola Haseler / BBC Dave, Ian and Pete Ruffett smile at the camera as they are photographed outside holding a Christmas tree. They are all wearing high-visibility jackets and hoodies underneath. Nicola Haseler / BBC
Dave, Ian and Pete Ruffett volunteer every year collecting Christmas trees for Willen Hospice

A hospice that cares for people with life-limiting conditions has raised £35,000 by collecting people's used Christmas trees for a £12.50 donation, plus gift aid.

Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes relied on "an army of volunteers" who came out in freezing temperatures over the weekend to collect the trees.

The volunteers borrowed vans, or used their own, to pick up 2,000 trees across 22 postcodes around Milton Keynes.

Willen Hospice needed to raise £9.6m a year in donations in order to look after about 1,000 people and their families each year.

News imageNicola Haseler / BBC Two male volunteers in high-visibility jackets place fir trees into a large pile of used trees. There is frost on the ground.Nicola Haseler / BBC
About 2,000 trees were collected by volunteers from homes around Milton Keynes for a donation to Willen Hospice

Brothers Dave, Ian and Pete Ruffett have volunteered to collect trees every January for nearly a decade.

Dave Ruffet, 68, from Newport Pagnell, said they started volunteering after their father was cared for by the hospice.

"We lost our father in 2017 to cancer and Willen Hospice was fantastic in the final weeks of his life with at-home care.

"Our mother volunteered at the coffee shop in Newport Pagnell until she was 80. It's just something we put in our diary every year and come out and do," he said.

Ian Ruffett, 64, also helps out with the hospice's Santa Dash, adding: "Everyone dresses up as Santa Claus, all ages, and they run round the two Willen lakes here. It's a really good day."

The brothers borrow a van to be able to collect the trees. "We start at 08:00 GMT in the morning and we have quite a big round to do," said Dave.

"It's for a worthy cause and it's a good time for the three of us, bonding as brothers," he said smiling.

"We have a laugh along the way," added Ian.

News imageNicola Haseler / BBC A women wearing a blue Willen Hospice sweatshirt smiles at the camera. She has dark hair and wears Christmas tree earrings.Nicola Haseler / BBC
Nikki Poole says the hospice needed to raise £9.6m a year to look after 1,000 patients in the area.

People living in postcodes MK1 – MK19, MK43, MK46, LU7 and NN12 can book their tree collection online for a donation of £12.50.

Nikki Poole, the community and events manager at the hospice, said the trees would be turned into woodchip.

"All the land around Milton Keynes is owned by the Parks Trust, who do the chipping for us, along with a local farm, and the woodchip goes back onto the land.

"It's a brilliant thing to do with your tree, just put it outside the front of your house and we'll collect it and you're supporting your local hospice who look after everyone here," Poole added.

The hospice provided "free, expert care for people with a life-limiting illness" and was largely funded by charitable donations.

Ms Poole said they could not do it without the volunteers, adding: "They're all amazing. We make sure we have a supply of hot dogs, soup and cakes back here to thank them."

Dave Ruffett said they all know people locally who have been cared for by the hospice.

"They provide such fantastic support... We're very lucky in this area that we have Willen, we're just a small part of it," he said.

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