UPDATE: Thomas Bragg supports hospice through recycling scheme

A Solihull funeral directors has gathered, counted and delivered 301,084 Christmas cards to a local hospice for recycling, which will raise funds for the care provider.

Kayleigh Hughes, funeral arranger at Thomas Bragg and Sons Funeral Directors and volunteers including the  Shirley Lions Club charity  unloaded around 300,000 cards donated by people across the country.

Hughes said: “People have been counting Christmas cards for days at Thomas Bragg & Sons Funeral Directors and the work has finally paid off.  

“Our humble target this year was 50,000 cards and we never expected to exceed 300,000. It was certainly a challenging amount to count and deliver to St Giles Hospice, but with the help of volunteers such as the Shirley Lions Club the whole operation was a roaring success.”

 Some 30 new trees have been planted at Temple Fields Natural Burial Ground, one for every 10,000 of the 301,084 cards counted, while recycling company Smurfit Kappa will donate to St Giles Hospice based on the total weight of the cards.

Hughes added: “Some people get an unbelievable number of Christmas cards around the festive season and 2019 was no exception. We’re so pleased how much this donation is going to help the environment and hospice and want to thank everyone who took part.”

St Giles Hospice has appealed for Christmas card donations for several years, raising nearly £50,000 to aid their work in supporting patients with incurable illnesses.

In December, the funeral directors revealed over 150,000 cards were donated to raise funds for the hospice.

For every 10,000 cards collected by Thomas Bragg and Sons Funeral Directors, a new tree will be planted at Temple Fields Natural Burial Ground.