HEALTHCARE charity, Sue Ryder, is thanking people across Yorkshire for supporting its Christmas Treecycle initiative, helping them to raise a total of more than £87,000 for families needing their care.

The green scheme which took place earlier this month saw the palliative, neurological and bereavement support charity, Sue Ryder, which operates Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds and Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice near Keighley, and their volunteers, collect real Christmas trees direct from people’s front garden or driveway in return for a donation.

The collected trees were then chipped and recycled as mulch with some trees being used for biomass or biofuel and others for eco piles in woodland.

Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice worked with 50 volunteers including young farmers from throughout the district and were kindly supported by corporate partners, Skipton Self Drive, Keighley Tree Services and Green Lands Turf and Top Soil. Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice were kindly supported by corporate partners Homeserve, Saltaire Signs and Landscape Paving to collect and recycle trees from selected postcodes in their area.

Over 2400 trees were collected from postcodes in Otley, Guiseley, Yeadon, Rawdon, Bramhope, Cookridge, Keighley, Airedale, Wharfedale and The Dales, which were a huge part of the 5822 trees gathered right across the country by Sue Ryder. Overall the scheme has raised £87,391 for the charity so far with more donations coming in, which will go towards helping continue its expert and compassionate palliative care and bereavement support.

Andrew Wood, Community Fundraising Manager at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, said: “We want to say a huge thank you to the local community for supporting our Christmas Treecycle scheme this year. It can be difficult to know what to do with your real tree once the festivities are over, but by recycling with us and making kind donations, you have helped to reduce landfill and raise vital funds so that we can continue to be there for families when it matters.

“We also want to show our appreciation to all of our volunteers for donating their time and for their incredible efforts and hard work – without their support we really couldn’t make the initiative happen.”

Emily Bee, Customer Relations and Office Manager at Homeserve, one of the corporate partners who helped with the Christmas tree collections in Leeds, added: “We were delighted to support the Sue Ryder Christmas Tree Collection. Being able to support our National Charity Partner on a local level is a great opportunity for HomeServe and our team in Leeds."