Vale Royal Crematorium supports local charities

Three local charities have been given donations totalling £2,500 by Vale Royal Crematorium, in the heart of Cheshire, which it raised as part of its metal recycling scheme.

With the consent of families, metals recovered during cremation are recycled and any money raised at each of the 34 crematoria and cemeteries nationwide operated by Westerleigh Group is used to support local worthy causes.

Vale Royal Crematorium has donated £1,000 to St Luke’s Hospice, £1,000 to The Joshua Tree and £500 to the Lion’s Youth Brass Band.

Dave Haslam, site manager at the crematorium, said: “Around Christmas time we decided we wanted to try to provide a little extra support to some local organisations after what has been a particularly tough year, especially for charities which have been unable to run their usual fund-raising activities.

“In August 2020, we celebrated our sixth anniversary by donating £6,000 to St Luke’s Hospice, which has been supporting people with life-limiting illnesses for more than 30 years.

“But we wanted to provide a little extra at the end of the year, as we know how important the hospice is to the communities of Northwich, Winsford and the surrounding areas.

“The Joshua Tree is a local children’s cancer charity, which was introduced to us through one of our Funeral Directors.

“It was founded in 2006 by a local couple after their son was diagnosed with leukaemia and they felt there was a lack of support services for all family members in their circumstances.

“The charity has a family support team and offers services such as counselling, art and play therapy, educational tutoring, nutritional advice and others.

“The Lion’s Youth Brass Band kindly allows us to use their socially-distanced performance of Somewhere Over The Rainbow during the Christmas Carol and Remembrance Service that we broadcast in December.

“During the pandemic, they have released a number of performances that have been greatly appreciated by the local community. Our donation will be used to help educate young people in the area and to give them the opportunity to learn, play and perform in a brass band environment.

“All these organisations do such incredible work trying to enhance and make a positive difference to the lives of people in our community.

“It’s an honour to be able to provide them with these much-needed and well-deserved donations.”