Funeral home raises £2,500 for charities

Gillotts Funeral Directors has donated £500 towards a Heanor charity that aims to protect vulnerable people and families in need.

The donation will go towards a project designed to help victims of domestic abuse. It is run by local charity Salcare, which supports people across Amber Valley and Erewash.

Salcare received the money this week after the staff at Gillotts Funeral Directors raised funds through its annual Christmas appeal last month.

The funeral home raised the funds by donating £1 every time a visitor left a message of remembrance on Christmas trees erected across all five of its offices.

Whilst £2,500 was raised in total, the money has been split five ways, including a community café in Kimberley, a charity which provides assisted living services to old people in Stapleford and an over-50s social group in Selston.

Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts, said: “Our Christmas fundraiser was very successful once again, but there was extra interest this year once visitors heard we’d be supporting Salcare, which is well known in the town.

“Their work in the community is very important, but like many charities it can be a real challenge to raise the money they need, which is why we’re extremely happy to have raised such a large amount of money and pass it on for them to put to good use.”

Dena Osborne, the charity’s head of strategic services, said: “Our Freedom Programme is an extremely important project in Heanor, because it supports victims of domestic abuse and gives them access to our other services too.

“We’re extremely grateful to Gillotts for this wonderful donation, which will help to ensure we can continue our valuable work in such a vital area.”